Forgotten
by Camilla Richard
Summary: Okay, this story is something of a prequel to the Septimus Heap series. It deals with a lot of the events that occured before Sep and Jen were even born. Like my last story, there's going to be a lot of tension, violence, and drama. But what else is new?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I am not, nor have I ever been, Angie Sage.

Author's Note: Enjoy!

Chapter One

Zelda Zanuba Heap, Keeper of Draggen Island, was savoring a tranquil day in her garden. It was MidSummer Day, the occasion to which Zelda Zanuab Heap looked forward ever single year. It wasn't that the remainder of the seasons were unbearable-they were lonely, but somehow she got by-it was simply that she never felt truly alive until MidSummer Day arrived. It wasn't the pleasantly temperate weather in the Marram Marshes which accompanied summer that so appealed to her or even the various creatures she kept about her home that were prone to giving birth during June. None of that truly mattered to Zelda. It was all lovely, of course, but it paled in comparison with the Queen's MidSummer visit. This year, Zelda was expecting Queen Elena to pay her visit to the Dragon Boat. Zelda's duties in life all revolved around the Dragon Boat in some way or another. It was a glorious vessel and had been beloved by Queens for centuries and paying a visit to the boat was a custom that all of the Queens had followed for some time . Annually on Midsummer Day, the Queen of the Castle journeyed to the Marram Marshes and as Keeper of the boat, it was Zelda's job to care for it and the other important life forms on Draggen Island until the Queen arrived. Zelda enjoyed her job. She preferred a quiet life and the Marram Marshes certainly provided one for her. She lived alone, as all Keepers must and she passed a great deal of time tending to the animals in her possession and attempting to create new recipes to prepare for her occasional guests.

However, hers wasn't a completely solitary life. Her brother, Benjamin, frequently dropped by to visit her and often he brought one or two of his seven sons with him. Benjamin was a Wizard, but he was not just any old Wizard. He was a shape shifter and could change form into almost anything he desired. Zelda's other brother, Theo, was also a shape shifter. Zelda didn't exactly approve of brothers' chosen branch of Wizardry. She knew that successful shape shifters had a very hard time keeping their own physical forms for an extended period of time. Despite this, Zelda enjoyed her brothers' company very much and always loved it when Benjamin brought his sons along, particularly his youngest son, Silas.

Silas was nine years old and full of energy. Zelda was only thirty-six, but she still couldn't keep up with Silas. He was such an enthusiastic, boisterous child. Even if he didn't have the kind of **magykabl **power that was expected of a seventh son, he was still special in his way. Although he undoubtedly had a good heart, it was obvious to Zelda that Benjamin and indeed his wife, Jenna, were a bit disappointed in Silas's lack of **magykal **ability. His older brothers had twice the talent he had, but secretly, Zelda preferred Silas's company because he was so pleasant and cheerful. She had tried to convince Benjamin to stop being so hard on Silas because he couldn't help the amount of talent with which he had been born. It was hardly the child's fault that he struggled through **magyk**.

This MidSummer Day was particularly important to Zelda. Not only was the Queen coming for her yearly visit, she was bringing along with her the young princess, Cerys, who was only a few years younger than Silas. Zelda had yet to meet the Princess, but she knew that, if the child was anything like her mother, Queen Elena, she would become rather fond of her. Zelda had spent much of MidSummer Day's Eve preparing an immense meal for the Queen and her daughter to enjoy. She was well aware that Elena would tell her that the meal was "interesting" as everyone always did, but still, Zelda loved cooking for others and the Queen was certainly no exception to that rule.

When the Queen at last entered Keeper's Cottage through the Queen's Way, it was midday already. Zelda had been in the middle of slicing some eel for the afternoon meal when she head Elena's voice calling down the corridor.

"Zelda? Zelda, where are you? We have arrived!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming, dear." Zelda cried happily as she approached the potions cupboard from whence the Queen had emerged . Upon reaching Elena, she embraced her excitedly. The Queen _did_ indeed make for a lovely sight. Like so many of the Queens before her, she had thick, dark hair, a shapely form which was somewhat hidden underneath her billowing silk skirts, and the haunting violet eyes that appeared to run throughout the entire family. Zelda turned to a small girl standing beside the Queen and asked, "So are you Princess Cerys?" The girl nodded shyly, her eyes aimed at the floor. "You're so beautiful!" exclaimed Zelda, taking the girl into her arms.

Cerys smiled and her mother spoke once more, "Yes, beautiful she is, Zelda, but I'm afraid she takes after her father quite a bit. She hardly resembles me." It was true, little Cerys did bear a striking resemblance to David, Queen Elena's consort. Cerys smiled politely and took a seat by Zelda's fireplace, disturbing a none too clean duck which had been sitting there previously.

That MidSummer Day ended up being an extremely memorable one. Of course, Cerys loved meeting the living, breathing Dragon boat, but something happened to her that day that made perhaps an even larger impression on her. Cerys had the good fortune to meet Zelda's nephews. It was an accident, really. Benjamin did something that Zelda considered a typical Heap mistake. He forgot what day it was and decided to bring two of his sons, Louis and Silas to visit their aunt. Instead of forcing Benjamin to take his sons home, as Zelda probably should have, she allowed them to stay for the day. Princess Cerys didn't object to this at all. She was thrilled to have other children around her age with whom to spend time. Initially, Louis was a bit nervous about playing with the princess, but Silas was as bold as ever. He thought Cerys was the loveliest thing he had ever seen, but then again, Silas hadn't seen a lot of girls. His parents were homeschooling him and his brothers. Silas was thankful to have someone with whom to pass time. After all, his brothers were all considerably older than he was. Benjamin's second youngest son was Louis and he was already twelve.

Even though she was quite a few years younger than him, Cerys made quite an impression on Louis that day, one that she didn't make on Silas. For Silas, Cerys was the first of many women whom he would associate with in his life. For Louis, Cerys was going to be much more. But neither of the boys had any way of knowing the future.

When the day was finally over, Cerys didn't want to leave Silas and Louis. Before she left, Cerys promised that she would never forget them, and begged them to never forget her. Only Louis remembered his promise.

Later, once Cerys and her mother had returned to the Palace, Cerys announced, "Mother, I want to marry Silas Heap when I become a big girl."

In response to her daughter's statement, Elena laughed. "Cerys, darling, the Heaps are lovely, but they are not fit to marry princesses. You'll understand that someday."

"Mother, I think Silas is wonderful. He _is _fit to marry me!"

Elena decided to humor her daughter for now. There was no point in ruining her fantasies. After all, she was only a child. "All right, Sweetie. I'm sure that you're right. Now, get ready for bed, it's incredibly late."

"Yes, mother." Cerys replied obediently, leaning over to kiss her mother's cheek. Then she was off to her bedroom, leaving Elena to her thoughts. Sometimes, she wondered who Cerys would really marry and what kind of Queen she would be. It was an interesting concept to contemplate.

While the Queen was thinking about her daughter's future, a poor young woman named Lillian Willow was also simultaneously thinking of her own daughter. However, Lillian wasn't thinking of possible suitors for her daughter. She was thinking of ways she could get enough food to feed both herself and her child for the next months. Lillian had just gotten fired from her job as a seamstress because she had been late to work five times in the last month. Lillian had made just enough money as a seamstress to rent a small room in the Ramblings for herself and her daughter, Sarah, to live in. Now, that she no longer had a job, she and Sarah might even end up on the streets. Although Lillian couldn't show her daughter how she felt, she was rather afraid. Lillian's husband had left her five years earlier and ever since, she and Sarah had had to muddle through and hope for the best. Sarah was an inquisitive, thoughtful girl who always wanted to help her mother in any way she could. It broke Lillian's heart to think of Sarah standing on the streets, barefoot and in rags, but it was beginning to look like that just might happen. Lillian knew she'd have to get another job and fast, but not many businesses were hiring people now. Lillian sighed, heavily. She spent much of the night trying to plan her next move.

Sarah awoke the next morning with a bad cough, much to Lillian's dismay. She couldn't imagine where Sarah had picked up a cough at this time of year, but for whatever reasons, she had one. Lillian couldn't think of a worse time for her daughter to be sick. She knew that she was going to have to tell Sarah why she wasn't going to work that day. It wouldn't be easy.

Before Lillian could spit out her bad news, Sarah asked a question which caught her off guard. "Mummy, do you think I'm a freak?"

"No! Darling, of course not! Whoever told you a dreadful thing like that?"

"Clarissa Demarte." Sarah replied, staring at her huge black boots and stifling a violent cough. Clarissa Demarte's father was one of the richest men in the Castle, and Clarissa took great pleasure in torturing those who were less fortunate.

"Clarissa doesn't know what she's talking about, Sarah. I've told you that before. She has a tendency to be incredibly stupid but you must forgive her."

"Why Mummy? She's always been downright horrible to me." Sarah looked puzzled. Sarah's puzzled look always bothered Lillian because it looked so much like her husband's had.

"Because we always forgive others. I taught you that a long time ago, remember?"

"Of course." Sarah whispered, covering her hand to silence yet another cough. Lillian looked at her daughter and thought she might cry. Right then, she decided that there was no way she was going to let Sarah end up on the streets, no matter what she had to do.

Sarah's voice interrupted her mother's troubled thoughts once more. "Mummy, I'm not a freak."

"No, you're most certainly not." Lillian answered fondly, her mind already moved on to other thoughts.

At the same time, not far from the Castle, a young girl of about Sarah's age was staring into the mirror, whispering to herself the same words Sarah had just said aloud. "I'm not a freak." The girl muttered, staring into her solemn reflection in the mirror. She was so tired of everyone at school telling her how different she was. She was just about the least popular child in her class, which perplexed her mother because her mother had always been popular. But this child's mother had been careless and flirtatious while the child was studious and somewhat quiet. As she gazed into the mirror, she touched her hand to her soft, dark curls and wondered why no one at school wanted to be her friend. She wasn't ugly or repulsive.

Suddenly, the child heard footsteps coming up the stairs. She pulled herself away from the mirror and turned to face her bedroom door, which opened to reveal her mother.

"Marcia," demanded her mother, looking cross, "Why do you look so glum? I swear, you are _always_ in such a terrible mood. Do you realize that most girls your age are actually easy to get along with? It's just my luck that I get one of the world's few irritable eight year olds."

Marcia was ashamed, but she said, "Mother, I'm not glum and I don't associate with the girls my age because they are silly."

"Don't give me that, Marcia. You don't associate with them because they don't want you around. Nobody wants to hang out with the school know it all. You need to stop acting like you're smarter than everyone else and maybe, just maybe, you'll have some friends. Besides, if you're going to be the school know it all, you should at least have the highest grades in your class. You do not. In fact, I seem to think that little poverty stricken child, Sarah Willow, does. If anything, she has the right to behave that way. I don't at all understand why you feel the need to do so."

Marcia was surprised. She never completely understood her mother. Marcia had always been told that parents were supposed to support their children, no matter how they turned out. In many ways, Marcia considered her mother to be just as horrid as the girls who she went to class with. Marcia tried not to tear up when her mother insulted her, but it was difficult. In spite her attempts to stop herself, Marcia felt tears starting to build up behind her eyes. She quickly glanced the other way to keep her mother from noticing, but it was too late.

"Oh cut it out, Marcia! Weak women cry, do you want to be weak? I can't even remember the last time I cried. I won't have my daughter crying like a stupid little wuss. Am I clear?"

Marcia nodded, "Yes, Mother." she said, quietly.

"Good." Her mother replied, "Now, I've got to go run some errands. Don't cause any trouble while I'm away." With that, she was gone, leaving Marcia alone for the rest of the afternoon, praying that her father would not arrive home before her mother returned.

In the Castle, Alther Mella, ExtraOrdinary Wizard, was enjoying a lovely evening with Alice Nettles, the girl he was courting. Alther had been ExtraOrdinary Wizard for nine years. Before him, his tutor, the **darke** necromancer DomDaniel had been in charge. The Castle had been a cold and eerie place when DomDaniel had been ExtraOrdinary, but now that Alther was in charge, the city was thriving again. Alther had had to fight DomDaniel to receive his position, but he had done it. Alther knew that DomDaniel was still out there somewhere, but he longer had enough power to defeat Alther. Alther knew the Castle was safe, at least for now.

There was one thing that Alther truly regretted about becoming ExtraOrdinary though. He knew that, in order to be a strong leader, he couldn't marry Alice and start a family with her. He was glad that Alice had continued to court him, though. He didn't know what he would do without her company, life would be rather dull. Alther was constantly telling Alice that he wouldn't blame her if she wanted to move, after courting him wasn't really going to get her anywhere. But Alice insisted that she wasn't bored with Alther. She told him she didn't care if they married or not, she just wanted to be with him. Occasionally, Alther wondered how he had been lucky enough to meet Alice. She was truly wonderful.

Unfortunately, Alther was quite right about DomDaniel. He was residing in the badlands. He had spent much of the last nine years planning his return to the Castle. In the years he had been in the badlands, he had begun to gather a group of supporters around him. He didn't have many yet, but it was a start. Eventually, he knew he would have enough followers to stage his take over. It would take him a little while, but DomDaniel was a patient man. He would wait. Someday, he would return for the seventh of the seventh.

Meanwhile, Sarah Willow was going through a very traumatizing experience. Her mother had just informed her that she no longer had the money or means to raise Sarah. She was going to leave Sarah with Galen, the kind Physik woman who lived in the Forest. Lillian promised Sarah that she would return for her someday when she had a little more money, enough to support the two of them. Sarah was heartbroken. Her mother had been the one person she had truly been able to count on her entire life and now, her mother was leaving her too. Sarah was terrified of being on her own. She couldn't imagine living in the Forest with total strangers. It was all too strange, too foreign for Sarah to wrap her mind around.

The same night Sarah's mother left her at Galen's, a terrible tragedy occurred in the Castle. Queen Elena's consort, David, was found dead in his bed. It was determined that he was poisoned. Cerys and Elena were utterly crushed. No one could figure out who would do this. Eventually, Elena came to the conclusion that it had been an accident. Cerys didn't know what she thought about the whole thing, but she didn't argue with her mother. If Elena said it was an accident, she would have to assume it was. Her mother was often right. Sadly, Elena was very wrong. David's death was far from an accident. It was in fact the first event in a series of events that were going turn the Castle upside down. It was going to be troublesome next few years for the citizens of the city. Seven people in particular were going to find the coming years very trying indeed. But happily for those seven, they didn't know the misery that they were going to endure. But they would find out soon enough. Their lives were getting ready to get extremely hectic.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Septimus is one of the many things I wish I owned.

Author's Note: All right, thanks to all who reviewed my first chapter. Thanks for your support. I don't have a lot to say other than that I am totally excited to be writing anther Septimus Heap story and that, if everything goes according to plan, this one will very….. interesting. I just realized that this chapter is mostly narration. It doesn't have a lot of dialogue at all. But don't worry, I'll be better about that.

Chapter Two

It was the seven year anniversary of the death of Queen Elena's consort, David. In the years since he had died, Princess Cerys had become a very quiet, withdrawn girl. She and David had been very close, much closer than Cerys and her mother were. Of course, Cerys loved her mother, but sometimes she was intimidated by her. Elena had a tendency to be very strict. David, on the other hand, was fun loving and just a bit goofy, but that was what Cerys had loved most about him. Sometimes, she wondered what made someone as serious as her mother marry someone as happy as David. But then again, opposites attract.

Elena had only become more irritable after David's death. She barely spent any time with Cerys anymore and as a result, Cerys spent much time alone. She passed many hours walking aimlessly through the Palace, bored and lonely. At fifteen years of age, Cerys was still obedient and respectful of her mother, but she was beginning to be rather angry with her too. Cerys's mother had forbidden her to leave the Palace or associate with anyone other than the Palace servants and it was driving Cerys crazy. Occasionally, Cerys wished she wasn't a Princess. If she were just a normal girl, at least she would get to have a group of friends.

Cerys's luck was in. The ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Alther Mella, was having a huge celebration in the Hall of the Wizard Tower and she was invited. Usually, her mother didn't allow her to go to parties, but the ExtraOrdinary Wizard's party was an exception. Alther had just taken on his first apprentice, Silas Heap, and the entire city was invited to come to the Apprentice Supper. Cerys had no memory of Silas. It had been years since she had last seen him and some of her childhood memories weren't very clear. Elena probably would have remembered Silas, but she refused to go to the Apprentice Supper. The Queen didn't like to attend public events and was becoming more and more antisocial as she got older. But Cerys wasn't about to let her mother spoil her fun. She intended to go to the party and have a good time. After all, it was one of the few occasions she could leave the Palace and she intended to make the most of it.

Meanwhile, Silas Heap was ecstatic. He couldn't believe he was getting ready to be the ExtraOrdinary Wizard's apprentice. He had been amazed when Alther had asked him to do it, and he still couldn't quite figure out what it was he had done to impress Alther in first place. So even thought Silas had no idea why he was chosen, he spent much of the days leading up to the Apprentice Supper bragging on himself to his older brothers, all of whom were getting rather tired of Silas's obnoxious behavior. They too were perplexed by Alther's decision. Silas was practically talentless.

Life had been hard on all of the Heap boys recently. Their father had decided to **shape-shift** into a tree for the rest of his life and the boys had no idea what tree was their father. Silas had been particularly close to his father and when he left, Silas had taken up some pretty terrible habits. His mother had let Silas do whatever he wanted to do because she felt sorry for him, maybe even more than she felt sorry for her other sons. They were all grown men and, although it was hard for them to lose their father, she thought it would be harder for Silas. He was only sixteen, still an adolescent really. His mother felt angry with her husband for abandoning the family so she pampered Silas to make up for it. What she didn't realize was that a successful **shape-shifter** couldn't help when they became their final shape. Silas's father had chosen his final shape years earlier and now, he would be happy. Even if Silas had known this, he still would have been upset. He hated his father for leaving him and his family.

Not long after his father left, Silas became involved with Tiffany Warken. Tiffany was the kind of girl that no self-respecting guy wanted to be seen with, but Silas had stopped caring what others thought about him a long time ago. Silas knew he didn't love Tiffany, he didn't even like her all of the time, but she did give him what he wanted. Silas was no different from other teenage boys when it came to his desires. He enjoyed the company of women, especially naughty ones. Silas was interested in the kind of girls who lacked morals. Of course, Silas knew it was unbecoming to court a fallen woman, but he knew he wouldn't get any fun evenings if he courted a true lady. Thus Silas thought ladies were incredibly overrated.

Many people disagreed with Silas's opinion of ladies. Galen, the physik woman certainly did. She had been raising her ward, Sarah Willow, to be a lady for the past seven years Sarah had spent with her. Sarah's mother, Lillian, had never returned for her. Much like Silas resented his father, Sarah felt angry with her mother. But unlike Silas, Sarah didn't make any rash decisions. She tried not to think of her mother, but it was harder on some days than it was others. Galen never brought the subject up because she didn't want to offend Sarah. Over the years, Sarah had grown to love Galen very much, nearly as much as she had loved her mother. Galen was her support, she had helped mold Sarah into the person she was now. Sarah had become a lady, no two ways about it. She was just the kind of girl who would be caught dead with Silas Heap.

Sarah was planning to attend to the Apprentice Supper and she was actually excited. She and Galen didn't get out very often, so very much like Princess Cerys, they made the most of their outings. Sarah really didn't mind staying at home with Galen in the tree house, though. Galen's company was enough to satisfy her.

A large crowd turned out for the Apprentice Supper. Sadly, however, only one of Silas's brothers attended the event. All of the others were too tired of his attitude to want to support him. Louis was the only Heap other than Jenna, Silas's mother, who came. Jenna was quite exasperated with her sons. She couldn't believe they would blow off something as important as Silas's Apprentice Supper. But then again, Jenna couldn't really see the bad in her youngest son. She was blinded by her love for him.

When Cerys walked into the Wizard Tower, she was, as ever, completely overawed by it. She had never felt completely comfortable in the Tower. It was like a living being, filled with spells and incantations that she knew were there, but she couldn't hear or understand them. When she walked into the room, the floor said, "Welcome Princess!" Cerys still remembered the first time she had come to see Alther Mella when she was a very small child. The first time the floor moved right before her eyes, she had been fascinated and amazed. But now, she was used to it. She was also used to having crowds turn and look at her when she walked into a room. Cerys didn't really like having others stare at her, but over time she had become more used to it. Crowds were one of the parts of being of royal blood that Cerys hated very much.

Cerys heard the people in the Great Hall whispering amongst themselves as she passed them. She felt extremely awkward and was eager to sit down where she wouldn't feel quite so exposed. What Cerys didn't know was that many of the men in the room were admiring how beautiful she had become. Most of the women, though, were jealous. Among these jealous women was Cassandra and Mitchell Overstrand's daughter, Marcia. Cassandra and Mitchell had been a very popular couple in their youth, and both of them were a bit ashamed of the way their daughter had turned out. She was so studious and she had a very stern disposition, especially for a girl of eighteen. Marcia had grown tired of living with her mother and father and had decided to attend a boarding school in the Castle. The school she was attending specifically trained Wizards. That was what Marcia wanted to do with the rest of her life. She had always gotten **magyk, **it just made sense to her. On this evening of the Apprentice Supper, Marcia was one of the few women in the room who did not envy Cerys because of her beauty. Marcia envied the attention Cerys was getting from the crowd. As Marcia had gotten older, she had remained studious, but she lost all of the shyness she had possessed as a child. Now, Marcia was bold and she desired, if not to be adored, to be respected by her peers. That didn't seem to be too much to ask for in her opinion.

Beside Marcia was a tall, dark haired boy who appeared to be a few years older than she was. The boy wore a kindly expression on his face and he too was observing Cerys with ample interest. Marcia looked annoyed by the young man's behavior. It was pretty obvious to anyone who was watching this strange pair that Marcia was very interested in this dark, handsome boy. Only Milo didn't notice this, he only had eyes for the Princess.

"Milo," Marcia snapped, bringing the boy back to reality. "Stop it, you're making a fool of yourself! Staring is most unbecoming. Did your family never teach you that?"

Milo smiled a little and said, "Of course they did, Marcia. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." His voice was low and soft. Marcia always felt a little shiver shoot up her spine when she heard it. Marcia usually tried to ignore this shiver. If she didn't acknowledge it, maybe it would go away.

Marcia was about to say something else to Milo when Alther Mella and his new apprentice came to the front of the room to make a few speeches. Secretly, Marcia was a little sad. She had always wanted to be ExtraOrdinary Wizard and she knew that because this Silas boy had managed to land the apprenticeship, he would probably end up getting to take over for Alther. Marcia sighed, trying not to show what she was feeling.

Milo sensed Marcia's discomfort, and squeezed her arm affectionately. Marcia felt as though a bolt of electricity had shot up her arm. Once again, she tried to calm her feelings. She knew that Milo's touch didn't really mean anything. Milo and Marcia's families had known one another for ages and they were very close. Milo saw Marcia as the little sister he had never had. Marcia knew that she had to act as though she saw Milo as a sibling, but it was getting harder and harder every day. She had a feeling that her mother knew how she truly felt about Milo. She didn't know how her mother knew, but she did. Marcia's mother was one of the few people who could see straight right through her lies.

Marcia had been so busy thinking of Milo that she had barely noticed that Alther Mella had finished making his speech. Now it was the apprentice's turn to talk. Marcia was very interested to see just what this lucky boy was like.

Silas was getting major stage fright. He didn't know exactly what he was going to say. He was going to have to wing it. But that wasn't a strange thing for Silas. He usually put everything off until the last minute and when he finally got around to doing them, he never did them as well as he could have done them. Silas didn't put much effort into anything.

Silas began to speak, He stuttered a little, but suddenly, he stopped talking altogether. Silas had just noticed Marcia Overstrand for the first time. Of course, he had noticed the Princess too when she had walked into the room, but she had not captured his attention as Marcia now was. He made a mental note to see if she was "available" after his speech. Silas knew that if he could get Marcia, he wouldn't have to screw around with Tiffany anymore. Silas would be happy about that. Although he liked Tiffany, he was somewhat bored with her company now and wouldn't mind having a new lover around to jazz things up a bit.

A few hours later, everyone was returning to their homes. Almost everyone who had come to the Apprentice Supper left happy. It had been an extremely pleasurable event. For Sarah, it had been a very wonderful evening indeed. She had spent most of it meeting new people. She met a girl just a bit older than her and the two hit it off almost immediately. Sarah's new friend was called Sally Mullin. Her father was a bartender and her mother had died when she was very young. Sarah had automatically felt a connection to Sally after she had admitted that. Ever since Sarah's mother had left her, Sarah had almost felt as though she was mourning her, even though there was a chance she wasn't even dead. Sally was the first person Sarah had opened up to about her mother in seven years and it felt good to let the truth come out. Sally had understood her feelings and it had made Sarah feel wonderful. That night, she was really joyful for the first time in years. Sarah was having such a grand time with Sally that she barely even thought about the apprentice boy. Although she didn't know him personally, she mentally thanked him for being the cause of such a great evening.

Milo Banda had had a glorious evening as well. However, he had not done a lot of socializing. Instead he had been content to pass the moments staring at Princess Cerys, who seemed to grow lovelier every second. He noticed that the young apprentice had taken a avid interest in Marcia and had spent all night trying to flirt with her, much to her obvious annoyance. But for once, Milo was glad not to have Marcia with him. Marcia would have talked his ear off and Milo really just wanted to be quiet and take in every detail of Cerys. He did not manage to work up the courage to speak with her that evening, but he vowed to himself that at least someday, hopefully someday soon, he would have a talk with the gorgeous Princess. Later, long after he had left the Wizard Tower, he was still imagining her face, radiant and exotic as he drifted off to sleep.

Silas had just had the most enjoyable night of his life. He had been the center of everyone attention and he had loved every minute of it. He still didn't know if he was talented enough to do some of the things he would have to do as apprentice, but he didn't really care. He knew that the entire Castle would know his name. He would be famous and popular and eventually, even snotty Marcia Overstrand would want to sleep with him. Silas had learned that evening that Marcia was not at all impressed with him and that he was going to have to work very hard to win her over. She was a stubborn as him. Silas knew that he would love to fool around with Marcia, but he didn't know if winning her would be worth the effort he would have to put into it. Silas hated working hard on anything he didn't have to work hard on.

Only Marcia had had a dreadful night. She had spent most of it trying to avoid the obnoxious, unqualified, lazy Silas Heap who was hitting on her and watching Milo Banda fall head over heels for the Princess just because of the way she looked. Silas had also managed to spill punch all over her party dress, which he insisted was an accident but Marcia knew it couldn't possibly be one because of the way her smirked at her after he did it. It was like he was making fun of her. Then, when she and Milo were walking home, all he had done was talk about Princess Cerys which had secretly torn Marcia up inside. By the end of the night, two of Marcia's biggest dreams had practically been crushed. One was her desire to become the next ExtraOrdinary Wizard and the other was to get Milo Banda to notice her as something other than a friend. Maybe her mother was right, maybe no man would ever take her seriously. Her mother had always told Marcia that boys didn't marry women with controlling personalities. Marcia's mother had never hesitated to tell her how controlling she was, how bossy, how unpleasant. That was one of the many reasons Marcia had left for boarding school she had only been able to take so much of her mother.

Just as Marcia was arriving home, Cerys was walking through the doors of the Palace. She knew that Queen Elena would most likely be in the master bedroom, which was one of the nicest rooms in the Palace. Cerys wanted to say goodnight to her mother before she went to sleep. She still felt guilty for leaving her mother alone at the Palace and she wanted to make it up to her. However, when Cerys entered her mother's chambers, she realized that something was terribly wrong.

The middle of the room was covered in blood and in the center of the blood was a round object. Terrified, Cerys bent down to see what it was. It only took her a moment to recognize the object. She knew it nearly as well as she knew her own name. It was the severed head of Queen Elena.

Cerys screamed and felt herself losing consciousness. At the sound of her scream, the Palace servants, none of whom were allowed to be anywhere near the Queen's rooms at night, came running as fast as they could. When they found this gruesome sight, they too became sick, but they managed to get Cerys to her own chambers and lay her down on her bed before trying to figure out what had happened.

There was no sign of a body anywhere. Whoever had murdered the Queen had obviously disposed of the corpse somewhere and left the head as a menacing threat. Everyone was puzzled by the Queen's death. They couldn't figure out who would do this to a woman who had always been kind to her subjects. Cerys was in a despair. She had now lost both her parents whom she had loved dearly. But the Castle had to have a Queen. And so, even though Cerys was very young, three days after her mother's mysterious murder, Cerys was crowned Queen. Guards were placed outside Cerys's bedroom now, just for safe keeping.

Cerys grieved for her mother a very long time, but after a while she began to get angry. She couldn't believe that some had had the nerve to come and steal her mother from her. She was determined to bring the person who had killed her mother to justice. What Cerys didn't realize was that the same group of people who had murdered her mother had murdered David, her father, as well. Sadly, Cerys's parents were simply the first deaths in a long list of deaths and injuries that would take place during Cerys's reign. The most difficult years for the Castle residents were still to come.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own this stuff….

Author's Note: Hey, I feel like I owe you guys a warning. Some things are getting ready to get sort of raunchy, but don't freak out. I promise everything works out in the end. Thanks for reviewing, I love you guys.

Chapter Three

Two months after the crowning of the new Queen, Silas Heap was out on the town. Alther didn't know where Silas was, but Silas didn't really care. His lessons were already getting pretty tedious and Silas knew he had to have some fun sometime. He had managed to sneak off to the Tavern on many nights. He was developing quite a taste for ale, or rather, he was developing a taste for how ale made him feel after her drank it. He didn't actually like the taste all that much, but he loved the carefree, happy sensation he got whenever he drank alcohol. Lately, he had been sneaking off to the Tavern so much that he even knew some of the regulars. Getting to know the regulars was not at all hard because Silas went to the smallest, most quiet tavern in town. There were only four regulars aside from himself. The first was a kind old man called Frank who had been an alcoholic for ages. Frank spent much of his time nursing his bottle of whisky and contemplating his life, a life which no longer seemed to have much meaning. Silas felt a little bad for Frank, but not enough to try and make conversation with him. Silas was more interested in the other three regulars.

One of them was a boy around Silas's age who came in every evening at exactly the same time, ordered exactly the same drink, and sat at the same table. Silas knew that his first name was Peter, and that the bartender knew him personally, but that was all. There was a man who sat a few tables down from Peter who had a very dark, angry look to him. He came to the Tavern every night and drank as many shots as he possibly could. Silas didn't know this man's name, but he wasn't sure he wanted to either. The man smelled like a pig pen which led Silas to think that this he hadn't bathed in a very long time. The man's hair looked as though it had been cut with a spoon and it was very greasy. Silas felt that the man was familiar in some way, but he couldn't explain it.

The last regular was a young woman with long light brown-blonde hair and striking hazel eyes. Silas didn't find her as attractive as he had found Marcia Overstrand, but still she was an improvement on Tiffany, who was putting on more and weight all the time. Silas was just waiting for the opportune moment to abandon her. This girl, this regular, could stomach nearly as much liquor as the dark, smelly man, which Silas thought was rather remarkable for a woman, especially one who was as young as she appeared to be.

So on this particular night, just a few months after he had become apprentice, Silas decided to talk to the mysterious girl. As he approached her, she looked the other way. Silas sighed. He wasn't in the mood to put up with a stubborn girl just now. The alcohol was beginning to go to his head and he was getting a headache. Besides, he knew he was going to have to go back to the Wizard Tower soon. Otherwise, Alther would get suspicious. Silas didn't have the time or patience to put up with this girl.

"Hey," Silas said, his voice soft and, he hoped, inviting. The girl didn't answer. Silas tried again. "Hello? Are you deaf? I'm talkin' to you." Silas was so drunk that he didn't realize how angry he sounded.

The girl looked surprised and frightened, but mostly, she looked furious. "Who the hell do you think you are?" she screamed, not recognizing how loud she was either.

"I'm gonna be your really good friend tonight." answered Silas. As he said these words, he reached for the girl's dress and began to rip it off. The girl screamed again, this time in a fright. The bartender jumped to his feet and went to confront Silas. Silas saw him coming and shot a powerful **magyk** curse at him. The poor man fell to his knees and immediately fell unconscious. When he hit the ground, his head crashed against the marble floor. Blood trickled onto the floor from underneath his head.

The girl burst into hysterics. "My God! My God, you bastard! You killed Griffen! Griffen never hurt a soul! He's dead, I know he's dead!"

Silas was ignoring the girl's rant. He was in shock. Peter, Frank, and the strange dirty man were in shock as well. Silas approached the bartender and felt for a pulse. There was none. "Shit!" he whispered hoarsely.

Suddenly, Silas felt someone hit him in the backside. When he turned around to see who it was, he got slugged in the face. But he had just managed to make out Peter's form. Soon, the filthy smelling man had joined Peter in beating Silas and eventually, Silas lost consciousness as well.

Hours later, Silas woke up with a splitting headache. He was lying in his bedroom in the Wizard Tower. He moaned aloud. If he was here, Alther must have found him. Not only had he snuck out in the middle of the night, but he really had killed a man. It was more than her could think about. It was positively horrifying.

As if on cue, Alther entered the room. "A..Alther!" Silas stuttered, "I..I"

Alther put a hand up to silence him. "Silas, you don't need to explain anything, you just need to rest. You witnessed a really traumatizing event last night."

Silas was puzzled. Witnessed? What did Alther mean "witnessed?" Silas had been the cause of the previous night's events, not a witness. But he wasn't about to correct Alther. "Alther," he muttered, his words still a bit slurred, "I'm so sorry. I never should have snuck out. I was so stupid! Please don't annual my apprenticeship, I'll never do it again, I promise. Forgive me, have pity!"

"Silas, Silas, calm down. I'm not going to annual your apprenticeship."

"Wh..what? You're not."

Alther shook his head. "No. I am upset that you tried to deceive me by sneaking out of the Tower, But you're young. You're going to make mistakes and I know it. But I am too proud of you to be terribly upset. What you did last night was really something."

Now, Silas was really confused. He knew that he hadn't done anything the night before that Alther would have been even remotely proud of. He couldn't figure out what in the world Alther was talking about. Luckily for Silas, Alther answered his questions without Silas even having to ask them.

"Silas, not many men would have stood up to those men last night and defended that young woman like you did. I'm sorry that you had to see old Griffen die, he was a nice man. I know he must have tried to help you defend her. I don't know what a lady of her age was doing in a tavern like that anyway, but that's not what matters. Those two men were arrested last night after you passed out, so you won't have to worry about running into them anywhere."

Suddenly, Silas realized what Alther thought. For some reason, Alther and the rest of the city thought that Silas had courageously saved that girl from the two other men in the bar who were trying to rape her. Silas knew that this was practically the opposite of what had happened and he was curious to know who had told Alther this inaccurate information. However, Silas was not about to tell Alther just how wrong his story was. If Silas could avoid going to jail, he would be very happy.

"Alther, who told you what happened last night?"

"Frank Spendger, you know that older man. You must have seen him while you were in the tavern."

Silas was even more amazed. Why would Frank defend him? Why would he deliberately tell a lie to protect Silas when Silas knew he hadn't even been particularly kind to Frank in the past. This just got more and more complicated. "I'm guessing that the two men…that they denied the truth?"asked Silas.

"Of course," Alther replied, "they blamed the bartender's death on you. But then Frank stepped in and said they were lying. I believe Frank over those two stupid cads. Besides, I know you. You do some crazy things, Silas, no two ways about that, but you're not a bad person. You're certainly not a murderer."

Silas felt guilty as Alther spoke. How little his tutor knew. But mostly, Silas was relieved. He wasn't at all upset that innocent men were going to jail in his place. After all, they had beaten him up. As far as Silas was concerned, they were getting exactly what they deserved.

Alther interrupted Silas's thoughts. "Silas, I thought I should let you know that that girl you rescued was very grateful to you. She said for me to tell you thanks when you woke up. Oh yes and she wants you to know her name. It's Clarissa Demarte."

Silas was now shocked into a stunned silence. This girl, this Clarissa, obviously knew the truth, yet she too was not telling it. Silas felt his jaw drop, but managed to pull it up again before Alther noticed. Something fishy was going on, and Silas was very eager to find out what it was. Things couldn't have been stranger if they had tried to be.

Within a day's time, the news of Silas's heroic act had reached every corner of the Castle. People were stopping him on the street and telling him what a great person he was. Even his brothers, who had been so angry with him before, were now quite proud to call him their sibling. Silas was loving being in the spotlight, even if he was a fraud. No one would ever have to know his secret.

Meanwhile, Sarah Willow had become enamored with Silas Heap. She couldn't believe that she hadn't even had a decent conversation with him at the Apprentice Supper. He was obviously a wonderful person. Anyone who would go out of his way to save a girl from being raped was remarkable in Sarah's opinion. Sarah and Sally Mullin had spent hours talking about what they would do if they actually met a man as kind of Silas. "Those sort of men are few and far between." Sally had said to Sarah during one of their long discussions. Sarah believed her completely.

Sarah and Sally were not alone in admiring Silas. Most of the other women in the Castle had come to idolize him too. Before long, almost everyone had forgotten all about the tragic death of their Queen and paid all of their attention to Silas Heap, who loved every minute of his fame. Only Queen Cerys didn't care for Silas Heap. She didn't dislike him. She was merely indifferent to him. She was so deeply immersed in mourning her mother that she had no time to think of love or anything equally trivial.

A few weeks after that night in the tavern, Silas ran into Marcia Overstrand on the street. She seemed to have become even more attractive since he had last seen her. Silas decided it was worth a shot to try and get her attention once more.

"Hey Marcia." He said boldly. He could see Marcia tense as he came closer to her. Great, she still didn't trust him. 'Well,' thought Silas, 'I've just got to do something about that.'

"Hello Silas." Marcia replied, coldly. "I'm surprised that you even remembered my name. I didn't think a _famous _hero of an apprentice like you would remember a lowly girl like me."

"You underestimate yourself. You made a bigger impression on me than most girls do." Then, realizing what he had said, Silas hated himself for being so stupid. Marcia would never want to do anything with him now.

He wasn't mistaken. "See, you admitted it, there are other women! Well, Silas Heap, I have no intention of sharing any individual I court with another woman. I'm not a low class whore. Aside from that, I would never waste my time on you if you were the last man alive. I'm not fooled by your whole hero act. The fact that you saved that girl was a fluke and nothing more. You happened to be at the right place at the right time, it could have happened to anyone. Stop trying to get my attention, you're wasting your own time." With that, Marcia left Silas standing alone in the street. He couldn't help but smile a little. He had managed to fool almost the entire city into thinking he was some kind of a true leader and only this prissy girl Marcia Overstrand had figured out his real personality, even though she didn't know what had happened at the tavern. She was clever, and that just made Silas want her more. He spent the rest of the afternoon planning ways he could win over Marcia, but none of his plans were very good. Still, he was determined. Something would surely work eventually.

Several hours later, Silas was in his bedroom in the Wizard Tower when he heard a knock on the door. He was a little perplexed. He hadn't been expecting anyone to drop by for a visit.

When he opened the door, he was startled to find Tiffany crying on his doorstep. Silas hadn't given Tiffany much thought in a while. Not when there were so many other prettier, thinner women to chase after.

"Oh Silas!" she wailed, "Silas, I've got some awful news!"

Silas was relieved that Tiffany wasn't yelling at him for neglecting him, and he said, "What's wrong, Tiff? What happened?"

She closed the door to his bedroom and then she began to whisper. "Well, Silas, you have to promise me that you won't be angry when I tell you this, no matter what."

"You have my word." Silas said, eager to hear what could possibly be so important.

"Silas, I'm having a baby."

Silas felt as though he might throw up. Tiffany's moodiness and weight gain made sense to him now. His mind began to spin. He knew that if Tiffany admitted to the public that she was having his child, his days of being admired would be over.

Tiffany began speaking again and Silas listened, still too overwhelmed to say anything. "The only problem is, I'm not sure the baby is..well, Silas, I'm not sure it's yours."

Silas felt utterly angry and conflicted. On one hand, he was happy that the child probably wasn't his own. That would take the pressure of him and put it on someone else. But on the other hand, Silas was infuriated. How dare Tiffany sleep with someone other than him? If she had him, what more could she want? Over half the Castle wanted him and she was willing to sleep around with others behind his back.

Silas didn't stop to think about the hypocrisy of his thoughts. He acted purely on impulse. In that one moment, Silas couldn't have been angrier at Tiffany and because he wasn't really thinking about what he was doing, he pushed her up against the wall violently. He heard a loud, cracking sound as he body hit the wall and plummeted to the ground, just like the bartender's had. Tiffany lay motionless in the corner. That could only mean one thing. Silas took a deep breath and cursed himself for letting his emotions rule his actions. He gently touched Tiffany's arm. She didn't move. Suddenly, Silas became very afraid. He didn't know he was going to get himself out of this mess. Somehow, he had a feeling that it was going to be much more difficult to lie about this situation than it had been to lie about the situation in the tavern. Just then, he heard footsteps coming up the stairs, and his heart nearly stopped. Someone could just walk in on him and find Tiffany's body. He would have to hide it and fast. He didn't have much time.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Septimus Heap. This is getting really old.

Author's Note: Thanks, as always, to my reviewers. And to Marcy, who's craziness inspires me every day. Okay, the characters aren't exactly like they are in the series yet because they are still young and not quite comfortable with themselves yet. A few of them are getting ready to make some rather stupid decisions that they probably wouldn't have made in canon, but hey, what's fanfiction for?

Chapter Four

Silas could hear the footsteps coming closer. He didn't have much time. Quickly, he grabbed Tiffany's corpse and stuffed it into his closet. It was all he could think of to do. He would have to get rid of it later. Silas had just managed to get poor Tiffany in his closet when there was a knock on his door. "Yes?" he answered, praying that he sounded calm. His heart was pounding in his chest.

"Silas Heap? Are you in there?" the voice was unfamiliar to Silas and it made him nervous. Against his better judgment, Silas cracked open the door. To his amazement, there was no one there.

"Hello?" he called, "Hello, who is there?"

An angry man's voice filled the air in response to Silas's question, but he still couldn't see a person. "Do you honestly think people believe your lies, you slimy worthless son of a bitch? You're a spineless, worthless piece of talentless trash! Someday, people are going to see you for what you really are, a lazy scumbag. Then, you'll be sorry. Don't think I don't know what you're doing, I watch you all the time Silas. Just know that you're going to pay for your actions. You can't get away with murder forever." Then the voice laughed and said, "Figuratively and literally."

Silas felt as though he had been punched in the stomach. How did this person know anything at all? Was he a ghost? A demon? An all powerful being? In any case, he had the power to destroy Sials future if he wanted to. Silas would have to tread carefully. "Who are you?" he asked, attempting to hide his fear, but not very successfully.

Unfortunately, there was no response to Silas's question. The man's voice was gone.

Meanwhile, Milo Banda was standing outside the Palace. He couldn't believe he had actually had the nerve to come here. Of course, he wasn't going to enter the Palace, but he loved being close to where Queen Cerys was. He knew that she had to be devastated about her mother, who wouldn't be? But still, he wanted a chance to meet her, to get to know her. He was beginning to recognize that his chances of getting to see the Queen anytime soon were slim, let alone getting to talk with her, but he couldn't help but dream. Marcia was always telling him how stupid he was being and that he should get his head out of the clouds, but Milo just couldn't make himself forget the beautiful Queen. Milo didn't see how Marcia could be so serious all of the time. He wondered if she liked anyone romantically sometimes. In all the years he had known her, she had always acted as though she detested romance and found it a waste of time. Milo didn't believe it though. Marcia was too secretive; she needed to show more of her feelings.

Milo was quite right. Marcia had plenty of feelings. At the moment he was prowling near the Palace grounds, Marcia was immersed in her thoughts of him. She was disgusted with herself for thinking of Milo. He obviously didn't feel for her. She was just good old Marcia, always there, a faithful friend, nothing more. Marcia tried once more to push Milo from her mind and focus on her studies. She felt so pathetic pining over Milo, so weak. Maybe her mother had been right all along, maybe she was weak and pitiful. Marcia cringed at the thought of her mother. She doubted her mother even missed her now that she was at boarding school. In fact, she was most likely relieved. No one really wanted Marcia around and she knew it. Milo probably only tolerated Marcia because he felt sorry for her.

Suddenly, Marcia decided she had had enough of these horrid thoughts. She knew she was too distracted to read another word from any of her school books. Tonight, she was going to have fun. Marcia only knew one person who honestly seemed to enjoy her presence, even if she didn't enjoy his at all. Perhaps Milo would even be jealous if she spent time with another man, maybe that was the way to win him over. It was worth a try. So without thinking about what she was doing, Marcia made her way to the Wizard Tower.

Silas was still shaken by the mysterious voice. He was in his bedroom, waiting for night to fall so that he could sneak out to the Forest and bury Tiffany's body somewhere no one would find it. At the sound of a knock at his door, he nearly jumped out of his skin. He afraid to open it this time. He didn't want to be threatened again. The person on the other side of the door rudely banged on two more times, and finally Silas opened it. Once he had, he was both relieved and delighted by the sight before him.

It was Marcia Overstrand. She was standing in the doorway wearing a party dress that Silas would have called risqué. He was shocked to see Marcia wearing it, but needless to say, he was pleased as well.

For a second, there was a silence. Then, Marcia decided to take charge. She had already planned out what she was going to say to Silas, although it had taken her a while to work it out. She was still feeling rather silly about looking to Silas, an obnoxious boy, for love and attention, but she didn't really have a choice. She couldn't think of anyone else and frankly, Marcia was tired of being ignored. If nothing else, being around the famous Silas Heap would get her noticed in some way or another. Then, after people began to realize who she was, maybe, they would recognize her **magykal** ability. Maybe, she'd get to be ExtraOrdinary Wizard after all. She knew that the chances of that were slim, but still, Marcia strongly believed that nothing was impossible.

"Silas," she began, "I feel like I owe you an apology." As soon as she said these words, Marcia felt sick at her stomach. They were a complete lie and she was positive that anyone would be able to hear how false her words were. But to her relief, Silas appeared to actually be taking her seriously. For once, Marcia was glad Silas was a blockhead. At least he would be easy to manipulate. She decided to continue, thrilled that Silas was buying her fake words. "I treated you terribly and you didn't deserve that. You were always..polite to me." Marcia gritted her teeth at this word. She remembered the way Silas had laughed when he had spilt punch on her the night they met. That hardly qualified him as polite. She looked into Silas's eyes. He was still believing her lies! Marcia nearly chuckled at Silas's ignorance. It was a pretty amusing. "I've been having a pretty rough time lately and I took my stress out on you. I'm sorry."

Marcia paused to look at Silas. He actually looked interested in her problems. Of course, he was obviously more interested in her ample cleavage peeking out from her dress, but at least he was somewhat interested in hearing about her. So even though Marcia barely knew Silas and didn't even like him much, she found herself spilling many of her childhood stories. About how she had never lived up to her mother's standards or how she always been the kid everyone else picked on, the loser. Marcia had never told anyone as much as she told Silas that evening. These were all the things she had wished she could tell Milo, but she was always scared to tell him because she was sure he would think she was pathetic. At least if Silas ended up thinking she was insecure and weak, it wouldn't hurt too much.

Silas was becoming a more and more enamored with Marcia, but not so much with her stories. In fact, he was more or less nodding his head and pretending to listen to her. All he was really thinking about was what she would look like without any clothes on at all. He knew he wanted to go to bed with her desperately, but he couldn't figure out how he was going to pull that off. Marcia didn't seem like the type for one night stands. Then, Silas thought of a plan.

"Marcia," he said, attempting to make himself sound kind and gentle. "Do you want to go to dinner with me? I want to talk with you some more if you don't mind."

Marcia was excited. Was Silas Heap really being a gentleman? She hadn't thought it was possible. "I'd love to." she replied. She was still extremely happy to have someone to talk to. She had never really realized how lonely she had been.

At the same time Marcia and Silas were looking a popular restaurants, Milo Banda was writing a love letter to Queen Cerys. He didn't think he would ever have the courage to give it to her, but writing it helped him to express his feelings. In some ways, he felt as if he was speaking to her, even though she wouldn't ever get the chance to read the note. Milo was beginning to feel sorry for himself. Here he was, in love with a girl who didn't even know he existed.

Sarah Willow was in a similar boat. She had come to adore Silas Heap from afar in a way none of his other women admirers had. She knew it was foolish to think she had even the slightest chance with Silas, but it was all right to dream, Sarah was sure of that. And dream she did. In her dreams, she saw Silas waiting for her, his arms outstretched, ready to hold her and never let her go. She never told Galen about these dreams. Galen had little tolerance for men in general, and Sarah knew she wouldn't understand her interest in Silas. Not even Sally really understood it.

A few hours later, Marcia and Silas had finished eating dinner and having a few drinks. Marcia had had some kind of a cocktail and Silas had ordered it for her. When Marcia left to go to the restroom, Silas had told their server to make her drink alcoholic, even though she had requested a non alcoholic drink. This was Silas's plan. He was going to get Marcia tipsy and unaware of her surroundings, and then, he could take her back to his room and screw her. It was foolproof. So far, Silas's plan was working. He had managed to get Marcia back to his rooms and she was relaxing on his couch, muttering something unintelligible and laughing. She was obviously unaccustomed to alcohol. Silas thought Marcia was even more adorable now that she was drunk, she was suddenly silly and fun. He made a silent vow to get her drunk more often. But now was his chance to make a move. Here was a goddess sitting in his living room area and he was just standing there.

At last, Silas made his move. He approached Marcia and took her into his arms. She let him. Silas decided to go a step further. He began kissing her lips. She responded eagerly. He kissed her neck and ran his hands up and down the curves of her body. Still, she did nothing to stop him. Finally, Silas had gained all the confidence he felt he needed. He started tearing her dress off. Suddenly, Silas felt a sharp pain in a very private part of his body. His naked would be lover had just kicked him, hard. She was more tuned in to what was going on than he had thought. Great.

"You bastard!" exclaimed Marcia, "You sick, stupid bastard! You honestly thought I was going to let you have me, like some weak little slut? For a moment, I thought you were actually interested in what I had to say. I should have known better. I don't know why I ever trusted an egotistical oaf like you. I must have lost my mind. I don't feel like myself at all. I'm not stupid, Silas Heap. Somehow or another, you got them to put alcohol in my drink. I'm not an idiot, Silas. You were trying to use me tonight. You're a sleazy louse. You have the chance to be the next ExtraOrdinary Wizard and you're throwing your future away. I would never-well never mind, you don't care what I think, do you?" Marcia didn't allow Silas to respond. Quickly, she threw her clothes back on and rushed out the door in a huff. She felt horrible. The one person she had believed just might enjoy her company had only wanted to take an unfair advantage of her.

When Marcia got to the bottom of the Wizard Tower and then, she rushed into the ladies room and vomited. The alcohol was still poisoning her body. She was overcome with embarrassment and grief and no one cared. Once she was sure she was completely alone, Marcia started weeping, long unstoppable sobs. It took her quite a while to regain her composure after she finished her emotional fit, but she didn't dare leave the room until there were no signs of her tears. Marcia wasn't about to let anyone else see that she had lost her composure.

Back upstairs, Silas had collapsed onto the bed, frustrated and exhausted. He had been so close to getting Marcia but she had succeeded in fooling him again. Eventually, Silas's aching head got the best of him and he fell asleep.

In a room down the hall, Alther Mella was perplexed by a very odd smell coming from Silas's room. He decided to see what was possibly be making Silas's room smell so unpleasant. The scent resembled that of a dead animal.

When Alther came into Silas's room, he noticed that Silas was asleep. But the smell was stronger than ever before. It only took Alther a moment to realize that the smell was coming from Silas's closet. Slowly, Alther cracked the closet door open. Needless to say, he couldn't have been more flabbergasted or appalled by the sight before him. He was going to wake Silas up. They had some very serious matters to discuss.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not, cannot, and will never own Septimus Heap.

Author's Note: Thanks to all of my reviewers. Yes, I know things are complicated, but bear with me. All of the details are there for a reason, I assure you. Ok, I am twisting a tiny detail of Sage's plot in this chapter because that's the only way I can make the plot work. I am changing the story a bit, but it will all fit with the beginning of Magyk when this story reaches its end. I hope my altering things doesn't offend anyone.

**Of all the things I've lost, I think I miss my mind the most.-**Anonymous

Chapter Five

Sarah Willow awoke early the morning following Silas's crazy evening. Sarah didn't know what had led her to get up at this hour, but she felt uneasy. It was if something terrible had occurred, but Sarah didn't know anything about it yet. It was unsettling. She knew that Galen would be awake and Sarah decided to go and spend some time with her. At this moment, Sarah didn't want to be alone.

When she went the wooden stairs to the kitchen, she could hear Galen rummaging around, as if she were searching for something. "Good morning, Galen!" called Sarah, trying to sound cheerful.

Galen jumped. "Oh hello, Sarah! I didn't expect to see you so early. You won't believe what's happened! Everyone's talking about it."

"What?" asked Sarah, excitedly. There was hardly ever any interesting news and Sarah was thrilled. Unfortunately, it wasn't good news.

"It's that new apprentice boy, Silas Heap."

Sarah caught her breath at the mention of Silas's name. "What is? Galen, what are you talking about?"

"Alther cancelled the apprenticeship last night. The news is all over the Castle."

Sarah was speechless. "G..Galen? Why would Alther do that? Silas was so good, so kind."

"I think not." Galen replied, crisply. "He's going to be tried for murder."

"What?"

"Apparently, he had some poor girl's body stored in his closet. People are beginning to wonder if he finished off that bartender too, but that's not likely because both Clarissa and Frank denied it. Still, who else would kill a woman and throw her corpse in Silas's closet? I was always a bit suspicious of him. I never bought his nice boy act."

Sarah felt as though she had been punched in the stomach. She was utterly overwhelmed. The only thing she understood was that Silas's was being tried for murder. She knew in her heart that Silas wouldn't murder someone. There was something very wrong. "Galen, there is no way Silas Heap killed that girl. I know you didn't buy his act, but I don't think it is an act. I think he's a lovely person whose about to be convicted for something he didn't even do. Can't you see, Galen? Someone's set him up! Probably someone who is jealous of him."

Galen scoffed. "Nonsense, Sarah, they boy is guilty and he will pay for his actions."

Sarah was silent. Something was telling her that, even though she had never said a word to Silas, she should try and help him. She didn't know if she could bear watching him walk off to the dungeons or worse be executed for a crime he didn't commit. She promised herself she would find a way to get Silas out of this mess. She didn't know how, but she was going to do it.

At the same time, Queen Cerys was just receiving the dreadful news. Cerys was shocked. She hadn't known Silas well, she had known that he was Zelda Heap's nephew and that she had met him once, many years ago. Cerys loved Zelda dearly and couldn't imagine how Silas had turned put so terrible. She was disappointed because Silas had seemed like a decent man. Cerys hated to think about it, but she couldn't help but wonder if Silas was somehow connected to her mother's death too. She hoped this wasn't the case. She had always viewed the Heaps as an honest family.

Milo Banda was surprised as well. He had found Silas a bit irksome at the Apprentice Supper, but he had figured Silas was just excited about becoming the apprentice and that his haughty attitude would die down. Now that he was being blamed for this terrible crime, Milo didn't know what to think. In any case, he was too nervous to give Silas too much thought. Today, he was going to try and contact Cerys for the first time. He was tired of looking at his love letter and knowing Cerys would never read it. He decided that it was worth a try to win her. But he couldn't just walk into the Palace, that would be weird. So he was going to run a big risk. There was a short gate on the side of the Palace that led to the Palace Gardens. Milo knew that he would easily be able to climb over the gate and leave his note in the garden if he did it at night. He was going to try and talk Marcia into going with him. Trespassing on royal property wasn't really something he wanted to be caught doing by himself.

All the way across the Castle, at the bottom of dungeon number one, Silas Heap was feeling very sorry for himself. He couldn't believe his rotten luck. He still remembered the horrified look on Alther's face when he had confronted Silas about Tiffany's remains. Silas had tried to deny it, but Alther had seen right through him. Silas cursed himself for being so stupid. He had let himself get so worked up over Tiffany that he had killed her and now, because of that one act, his life would never be normal again. Why hadn't he just used his brain and let the stupid whore alone? Why did he never use his head when he needed it? Now, he was doubtlessly going to be tried, convicted, and possibly sentenced to death. Silas groaned and rubbed his head. Then, he heard a voice speaking to him. At first, he was petrified, sure it was the voice of that strange man whose face he had never seen back in the Wizard Tower. Silas was in fact so afraid that it took him a second to recognize that the voice speaking to him belonged to a woman.

"Silas, Silas," the voice cooed mockingly, "Didn't your mother ever tell you to watch your temper?"

"Who are you?" asked Silas, he could just make out a short feminine figure standing in the back of the room.

"You don't remember me, boy? I made you famous." The young woman walked into the light and Silas knew her immediately.

"Clarissa Demarte!" he gasped, "What the hell are you doing down here? And why in God's name did you defend me? Why didn't you and Frank tell the truth?"

Clarissa's facial expression still appeared to be taunting him as she said, "Wait Silas, one question at a time please. I know how eager little boys get to hear good stories and I can see you're no exception. I'll tell you the information you seek."

Silas was enraged, "I'm no little boy! I'm a man, you damn whore! I'm a man."

Instead of being angry, as most women would have, Clarissa ran a finger through her long glossy hair and said, "Temper, temper. What did I tell you? Watch your temper! And if I am a whore, you must be the most pathetic man on Earth. If you call me that, you're insulting yourself because I can swear to you right here and now that I will never go to bed with you. Anyway, my answers to both of your questions are one and the same: Because my master told me to."

Silas paused, confused. Clarissa cackled.

"Are you really so stupid? Do you really not know who I work for? Let me give you a big hint and see if you can get it. Children usually like hints."

"How dare you-" Silas started, but Clarissa cut him off.

"Insult me and I won't give you the hints. Silas, my master is the only person who can save you from inevitable death. There is a girl in the Castle around your age who is planning to testify against you at your trial. She's going to claim that you attempted to rape her, and chances are, the public will side with her. There is too much evidence against you."

"How do you know that? Who is she?" demanded an impatient Silas.

"I know a lot of things. But I can't tell you how I know them. Why would I tell someone I don't trust my personal secrets? As for the girl, she's got a funny name. Maria Underhand? Mickayla Overkand? Something like that."

"Marcia Overstrand!" Silas exclaimed, " Why would she? Oh God, that little bitch! She just wants to be the apprentice. She probably loves this. I didn't attempt to rape her! She's lying. She came into my room willingly."

"Yes, after you managed to get her drunk! You took an unfair advantage of her! Just like you were trying to take an advantage of me that night in the tavern. If it were up to me, I'd take pleasure in leaving you to die. But my master has other ideas, luckily for you. I just want you to know that I don't give a damn about your sorry soul."

"Who is your master, Clarissa?" Silas had already guessed who it might be, but he wasn't entirely sure.

Clarissa stared at Silas arrogantly and said, "My master is none other than the greatest necromancer who ever lived, he was the greatest leader who ever led the Castle and with the help of his followers, he can lead again."

"DomDaniel." Confirmed Silas. When Clarissa nodded, Silas exploded. "That's not possible! DomDaniel's dead! Alther pushed him off the Wizard Tower years ago."

"That pipsqueak did no such thing! DomDaniel jumped off the Tower himself, but not before he vowed to come back for the seventh of the seventh. Silas, you are the seventh son. You are the first step in restoring the greatest Wizard of all time to power**. Darke magyk **has got twice the power **magyk **does. My master has a few women around who could bare your children. Think about it, you wouldn't have to do anything. If you joined him, you would never have to do anything but lay around and sleep with whatever woman caught your eye. These women already entertain my master's men, but you would be their top priority until your seventh son was born."

Shallow as he was, Silas was already beginning to like the idea. "Clarissa, how could you help me win the trial?"

Clarissa smiled. "That's for me to know and for you to find out. Oh and there is one more thing, I can make any woman you desire fall for you for a brief period of time, just for your entertainment. But only if you agree to join my master's cause."

Silas didn't hesitate. "I'll do it, Clarissa. I want you to make Marcia Overstrand fall in love with me."

"The girl that's testifying against you? Are you mad? Well, if that's what you want, I'll see what I can do, but remember I can't make it last-"

"Yes, yes, I know. I don't care. Just do it."

"Have patience, Silas Heap. Wait for the trial. It will be a good day for us all. Farewell until we meet again." With these parting words, Clarissa left the dungeons. Silas spent the rest of the day pondering his future. He didn't know where his life was going, but it looked like it was about to get a whole lot better.

At midnight, in the Palace Gardens, Milo had just managed to scale to the fence and get inside. Marcia had come with him. She had pretended to be annoyed when he asked her, but secretly, she couldn't refuse him. He had genuinely seemed to want her company and she wasn't about to deny him that, even if the reason he wanted her company was tearing her up inside. Milo was trying to win over the Queen and he wanted Marcia's support. "You're my best friend." He had said, "I want your support." It felt good to be wanted, even if it was for a stupid reason.

After a few moments of waiting, Marcia saw Milo come back over the wall. "I left the note." He whispered triumphantly.

"Good." replied Marcia, "Now, Milo, I'm freezing. Could we please go home?"

Milo smiled. "Yes Marcia, of course." When they reached Marcia's place, Milo shocked her by throwing his arms around her. "Thanks for going with me, Marcia. I know you didn't want to."

Marcia, still stunned by the feeling of his touch, managed, "It was nothing Milo. Really."

"You're the best friend a guy could have. Have a good night, I'll see you tomorrow."

"You too." Marcia said quietly. She thought of his words. She was his friend, nothing more. She would never matter, not like Cerys did. Marcia felt horribly heartbroken, though she wouldn't admit it.

Little did Marcia know, she was being watched. She had no way of knowing the trouble that was lying ahead of her.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Angie Sage owns this. God help the poor woman, I'm ruining her story.

Author's Note: Hi, thanks to all who reviewed, you're encouragement was just what I needed. I see no need to go into my personal life, but just know that it was not a good day for me. Thanks for making it better. This is a somewhat short chapter and it probably stinks, but go easy on me. Today was not good.

**Use your head, no one likes a peron who makes rash choices**.- my English teacher

Chapter Six

The day of Silas's trial was a hectic one. Silas was incredibly nervous. He hoped that Clarissa would really help him. He was more than willing to join DomDaniel if it meant he could get out of this mess. Silas didn't really care who's side he was on, as long as he had power. When he walked into the courtroom, he wasn't surprised to see that it was packed full of people. He knew that event s like this didn't often occur in the Castle and that these residents were taking an advantage of the excitement. Even in these dire circumstances, Silas was glad to be the center of attention. He searched the crowd for Clarissa, but saw no sign of her. He was starting to panic. If she didn't show up, he would surely be convicted.

As it turned out, Clarissa didn't make her entrance until after Marcia Overstrand's testimony. Unfortunately for Silas, Marcia's testimony had been very believable and honest. By the end, she had had the jury eating out of the palm of her hand. Silas had felt doomed.

Sarah Willow was also miserable. She had come to witness the trial and she was terribly afraid that Silas was going to lose. She hated this Marcia woman who was obviously full of lies. She claimed Silas had attempted to rape her! What a foolish tale that was! Silas looked so solemn, so defenseless, that Sarah longed to run to his aid. She hated what public was doing to this poor boy, who didn't deserve any of it.

Just as Sarah was about to start crying in exasperation, a voice from the back of the room startled everyone watching this event.

"Your Honor," the voice began. Everyone turned to see a beautiful blonde haired girl with abnormally dark colored eyes. She had an elegant refined look to her and many women gape with envy upon seeing her. Silas recognized her at one. It was Clarissa. He had never been so happy to see her.

"Your Honor," she said again, "I would like to have the chance to speak in favor of Silas Heap. I know the events that occurred the night Alther Mella, our great ExtraOrdinary Wizard," she smirked before continuing, "discovered Tiffany Warkin's body in Silas's Heap's room."

The room was suddenly filled with gasps of horror and surprise, Clarissa went on as though she hadn't heard. "Some of you might know me, and others probably don't. My name is Clarissa Demarte. Silas Heap saved me from being raped a few weeks ago in Griffen Gasten's Tavern. Ladies and gentlemen, this Marcia Overstrand girl is lying! The last thing Silas would ever do is rape a woman. He nearly got killed trying to keep two men off of me. If I didn't know better, I would say that Marcia just wants to get her name talked about." Marcia squeaked, insulted, but Clarissa didn't care. "Listen to me," she said, softly. "All I ask is that you listen to my side of the story. I saw the man who truly killed Tiffany. I think it is a well known fact that Tiffany was involved with more than one man. Poor Silas had no way of knowing this, of course, but Tiffany manipulated him and at least two other men. Only one of these men discovered that Tiffany was involved with Silas. It was Phil Niger, who I have brought with me today to help prove Silas's innocence." She motioned to the back of the room and there was a chorus of oohs and Ahs as Phil walked to the center of the room to join Tiffany. "Phil found out about Tiffany's little secret quite by accident actually. Once after she spent the night at Phil's, she left her purse in his sitting room. Instead of returning it to her immediately, he decided to see what was inside of this. Now, we all know that's a very rude thing to do, but in this case, Phil found some important evidence inside the purse. It was a love note from Silas. I could read it, but I'll spare Silas the humiliation. When Phil found the note, he was heartbroken because he had always loved Tiffany." Silas saw Clarissa choke, trying to hide her laughter. Silas nearly laughed as well. He realized that Clarissa was lying. He also knew that Phil wasn't a real person. "Phil" was one of DomDaniel's followers and his name was most likely not Phil. Tiffany had probably never seen him in her life.

"Anyway," continued Clarissa, "Phil and I have been very close our whole lives and he brought the letter to me. Of course, I was hurt for Phil but I wasn't shocked. I had always suspected that Tiffany might be..well, a fallen woman." Tiffany's mother in the back of the room yelled out an insult at Clarissa but she pretended not to notice. "Phil was so angry. He kept telling me he was going to kill Tiffany over and over even though I told him to stop thinking like that. That night, he stayed at my place. About four o' clock in the morning, I woke up and realized he wasn't in his room. I was so afraid that he had gone to hurt Tiffany out of anger. Phil is a good person, he would never hurt anyone in his right mind, but for a second there, I think Phil sort of lost his mind. He couldn't help it."

Through all of this, "Phil" had not said a word. Finally, he spoke. "Clarissa is right. The reason I came here today is because I want to confess that I made a horrible decision. I can't live with the choice I made. That night, I killed Tiffany Warkin, someone who I loved dearly, without even thinking about it. Then, I snuck into Silas Heap's room in the Wizard Tower and stuffed Tiffany's remains into his closet so that people would think he killed her. I can't live with myself anymore, I must be punished. I nearly convicted an innocent man, I can't live with that! I can't do it!" Suddenly, he fell at Silas's feet. Silas had to use all of his strength to keep from cracking up. For the first time, Silas looked into Phil's eyes. They were dark and haunted and slightly resembled the eyes of a **thing.** Silas now had absolutely no doubt that this man was a follower of DomDaniel.

By this time, the jury had come to a conclusion without even having to hear the rest of the trial. They believed Clarissa and Phil. Before the end of the day, Phil was sitting in the bottom of Dungeon Number One and Silas was free.

Sarah was overjoyed. She had known all along that Silas was innocent. Now, she might even have a chance with him. She couldn't wait to tell Galen and Sally the news.

Within a few hours, the results of the trial reached Cerys as well, who wasn't surprised. She had never really thought that a Heap could kill anyone. Deep down, she had always thought they were an honest, good family. Cerys wasn't too interested in the trial though. She had just discovered that she had a secret admirer. She had found a beautiful letter addressed to her in her garden and rather than being afraid, as many women might have been, Cerys was touched. The letter was signed by someone named Milo Banda who had apparently spent the night of the Apprentice Supper observing her. For the first time since her mother's murder, Cerys felt happy. She wanted to meet this Milo Banda and see what he was like. She spent much of the day contemplating his letter and hoping he would return for her. She really wished for the company of another person to cure her endless loneliness.

Meanwhile, Marcia was furious. She was so sure that Silas had killed Tiffany, but now, it seemed she had been wrong about the whole thing. The whole city probably thought she was a stupid, vengeful bitch who had just wanted to get Silas in trouble. All of the residents most likely hated her. Not that this was a surprise to Marcia. She was used to being hated, or at least disliked. Sure enough, by the end of the day, she had already over heard a few citizens making fun of her in various parts of town. They called her terrible things. They believed she was shameless and mad. Marcia knew that, if people already detested her, her chances of ever being the ExtraOrdinary Wizard were simmer than ever.

At the same time Marcia was moping around, Alther Mella was apologizing to Silas.

"I'm terribly sorry, Silas." He was saying, "I just jumped to conclusions. I never should have done that, it was incredibly stupid. I wish I could take you back as my apprentice, but I am afraid I can't. Once the apprenticeship is annulled, it's over for good. I never should have blamed you without proof Silas, it was unfair. I'll regret it for the rest of my days."

"That's all right Alther, I don't blame you." Silas replied, "Anyone would have done what you did. Besides, I think I am going to do a bit of travelling anyway. I've never really seen any place but the Castle and I want to know what's out there." Of course Silas knew that the only place he would probably see was the badlands once her joined Clarissa, but he couldn't tell Alther that.

"Oh, well, whatever you do Silas, I wish you well. I'll always be there if you want to talk with someone."

"Thank you, Alther." answered Silas, pretending to be touched. He was actually relieved when Alther left him alone. Not five minutes after Alther headed back to the Wizard Tower, Clarissa appeare by his side.

"Oh!" he gasped, "You shocked me! T..Thank you, Clarissa, for what you did for me. But what about..Phil? Is he really going to prison?"

Clarissa nodded and then said, "Yes, but not for long. He's a great escape artist, he'll find his way out, he always does."

Silas was quiet for a moment. "So do we wait for Phil or do we..?" Silas motioned toward the North, where the badlands were located.

"We will leave at once. Oh and by the way, Phil's name isn't Phil, but I bet you already figured that out."

"Yes," agreed Silas, "I did, but I haven't the foggiest who he is."

"His name is Argeon. He's my brother." Was all Clarissa said. Silas didn't know what to say in response. For a moment, it had seemed like Clarissa was going to say something else, but she didn't. Silas was tempted to ask, but he couldn't quite get the words out. He was still a bit intimidated by Clarissa. As they made their way to the badlands, Silas's thoughts for a moment went to those he had left behind, but only for a moment. He was turning over a new leaf and he was convinced that this one would be much better than the last.

At last, Silas ventured a comment. "You promised me Marcia Overstrand. When will I receive her?"

Clarissa laughed. "Consider her yours. I have asked my brother to bring her to my master's home after he escapes from prison. I'll have you know that I already put the curse on her. In a few short hours, she'll be thinking of you."

"Thank you so much!" exclaimed Silas, "You have no idea how badly I want to do her! No idea at all. I just don't know how to-"

"Oh for Christ's sake, stop you damn groveling! In any case, my master has a lot of female servants who amuse his men. Perhaps you will find them more appealing than Miss Overstrand."

Silas didn't respond. He didn't want to make Clarissa angry, but he knew he would never want to screw with a woman more than he wanted to screw with Marcia. But at least he knew that he was going to get a chance. That made him think he could bear anything life threw at him, as long as he had a delicious looking toy to play with and make him happy.

Back in the Castle, Marcia had just awoken from a puzzling dream. Clarissa's spell was beginning to work. Marcia was doomed. She had just dreamt of Silas Heap for the first time.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Angie Sage owns it, not me.

Author's Note: Thanks as always to those who reviewed. It means a lot to me. All right guys, I just spent the entire evening with a ton of boys who remind me of the way I am writing Silas. They were nuts, but I feel inspired. They're into girls' bodies, let's put it that way. Anyway, I wrote this chapter after midnight or around midnight. I hope it doesn't insult anyone's intelligence. It's also my last relatively short chapter. If everything goes according to plan, the rest will be rather long.

**Smiling faces tell lies-**The Undisputed Truth

Chapter Seven

Jenna Heap, mother of Silas, was panicking. No one had seen Silas in over three days and Jenna was beginning if something terrible had happened to him. She had been so relieved to discover his innocence, but she hadn't even gotten the chance to say a word to him after the trial and now, he appeared to be missing. Jenna's sons weren't shocked. Unfortunately, none of Jenna's other sons seemed to be interested in helping her find Silas. Only Louis seemed a little worried, but he too was convinced that Silas would find a way back to them. Only Jenna worried.

Much of the Castle was confused by Silas's absence as well. No one could figure out why he had just left or where he had gone. Eventually, Alther Mella told the public what Silas had told him, that Silas was travelling. A few of the citizens speculated that Silas had had another reason for leaving, but no one had even the faintest idea what that reason might be. For a while, Silas was a popular topic of conversation amongst people, but finally, an event occurred that took everyone's minds off Silas. The man who had been arrested in Silas's place, "Phil", was going to be executed. Sadly for Clarissa and Silas, he had not managed to escape. Of course this hurt Clarissa because she would miss her brother terribly, but Silas was almost as hurt, not because he cared about Clarissa's brother but because he knew that Ageon was the one who was supposed to bring Marcia to him.

The last few days had been very hectic for Silas. In the past forty-eight hours, he had met DomDaniel and promised to serve him, and Silas had become acquainted with many of DomDaniel's followers. What DomDaniel wanted from Silas was simple, he just told Silas to produce as many children as he could until he had seven sons. DomDaniel and Clarissa introduced Silas to all of the women he kept in the badlands, but Silas wasn't very impressed with any of them. Of course he hadn't dared to say that to DomDaniel. Silas had acted as thought they were splendid, but in all honesty, they were all about like Tiffany. Some were very much on the plump side. Silas really wanted Marcia to be the mother of these children he had to produce, but he knew that with Clarissa's brother being executed, the chances of Silas getting Marcia out to the badlands with him were slim. So Silas devised a plan that he prayed would work. This plan was going to require him to speak with DomDaniel alone, but it was worth a try. He hoped that if he put on a convincing enough act, DomDaniel would allow him to return to the Castle. Silas's plan was simple. He was going to tell DomDaniel that he wanted to spy on the residents of the Castle. He would also assure DomDaniel that he had found a lover to bear his sons. That way, he could move back into the Castle and court Marcia there. In truth, Silas knew he would like that better anyway. The Badlands were already starting to disgust him.

Back in the Castle, Milo Banda was anxious. He was standing just outside the Palace Garden gates. Milo was ecstatic because he had just caught sight of Queen Cerys strolling through the garden, humming a lovely tune. Milo was also rather nervous because today was his big day. He was going to talk to Cerys for the first time. Luckily for Milo, he didn't have to make the first move.

Cerys had just noticed Milo through iron gate that led to the garden. Upon seeing Milo, her heart skipped a beat. Perhaps this was him! Perhaps this was that Milo Banda who had sent her that beautiful letter. She hardly dared to hope. Tentatively, she called, "Who's there? Who are you?"

Milo felt unable to speak. There was Cerys, talking to him. He could hardly believe it was happening. He knew he'd have to say something. At last, he choked out. "Please don't be startled, your Highness, I would never hurt you. I have just come to see you because I cannot be away from you anymore. Did you receive my letter, the one I placed just beneath the bench in the garden? I hope that the letter didn't bother you. I just wanted to let you know what a powerful impression you made on me a few weeks ago. I can't stop thinking of you, but I have to know, do I disturb you by saying these things? If you find my words offensive, please forgive me. Do I offend you, my good Queen?"

Cerys touched her hand to her heart in shock. It was Milo! He had come for her. "Oh, oh my God!" she exclaimed and with these words, she sat down on the bench in the garden. Then, he said, "Please, please Milo, come into my garden. Do not be afraid. How could you offend me? Your letter to made me feel better than I have felt in a very long time. I shall be honored to have your company."

Milo felt overjoyed as he entered the garden. There sat Cerys, even more beautiful than he had remembered. He couldn't even think of a time he had been this happy. He and Cerys spent the rest of the afternoon sharing stories and getting to know one another. By the time night fell, the couple had shared nearly all of their personal information and their first kiss, which had caught both Milo and Cerys off guard. They hadn't expected thing to happen so quickly, but there hormone were controlling the situation. In any case, neither Milo nor Cerys regretted the kiss after it was over. From that day forward, Queen Cerys's loneliness was over. Sadly, though, her difficult times were not.

Marcia Overtrand's difficult time were just beginning as well. She had spent all afternoon trying to stop herself from thinking of Silas Heap and so far, was not succeeding. Marcia was incredibly cross with herself. She knew Silas was no good, he was shallow, vain, conceited, and just downright horrible. And yet, she couldn't shake her thoughts of him. She didn't understand why she was so interested in him all of a sudden. She had always hated him before, but now, thoughts of him plagued her thoughts. She was so puzzled by her feelings. Silas had never wanted anything but Marcia's body, so why was she giving him the time of day? Marcia couldn't have been more stressed out. Silas was beginning to affect her studies now too. It seemed like her thoughts of him became more and more graphic by the second. If she were honest with herself, she would have to admit that her mind was frightening her.

Meanwhile, in the Castle lock up, Peter O'Malley was also distressed because of Silas. He had spent the last month in the lock up all because he had tried to protect Clarissa Demarte from Silas that night in the tavern and he was furious. He was also afraid in a way. The news of "Phil's" execution had reached him. Of course, Peter knew that Phil had been in the dungeons and that the people who were kept in the dungeon were almost always executed eventually, but still he knew that, if the Castle citizens got tired of keeping him in the lock up they just might kill him. Peter was young, no older than Silas. He wasn't ready to die. He was tired of watching weak, lazy people like Silas get everything they wanted from life while Peter had to suffer. It was so unfair. Peter vowed to get himself out of the lock up and, once he did, he promised himself that he would give that atrocious Silas a good piece of his mind.

Even though he was causing several people all kinds of grief, Silas was thrilled. He had just gotten DomDaniel's permission to return to the Castle and spy on the citizens there. DomDaniel had not hesitated to let him go because he actually thought Silas had a pretty good idea. He needed a few spies anyway. So within a few days of arriving in the badlands, Silas returned to the Castle.

When he reached the city, he went to visit his mother first, just to let her know he was all right. But he didn't spend too much time with his family. He was eager to return to Marcia and try once more to won her over. He had a feeling it would be easier now that he had Clarissa's spell on his side.

On his way to Marcia's, Silas noticed a girl he had never noticed in the Castle before. She was shopping in the marketplace and she had not noticed Silas at all. Silas didn't know what had made him notice this woman. Her appearance was rather homely. Not unattractive, but homely. Her curly straw colored curls resembled his own and her body was incredibly skinny to a point where she looked a little underfed. But she did have kind eyes. Maybe that's what had captured his attention. They were the emerald eyes of a Wizard, like his own. It took Silas a moment to realize what had made him notice this girl. She could have passed as his twin they were so alike in appearance, Silas had never seen a girl, or another person come to think of it, who resembled him so much. It bothered him a little, but he managed to push it from his mind.

Thirty minutes after seeing this young woman, Silas was knocking on Marcia's door. When Marcia opened it and saw who it was, she tried to slam it in his face, but he stopped her. "Look, Marcia," he said, "I just want to talk. I've got something I want to say."

Marcia's hormone screamed for her to let him in, but Marcia herself remained, as ever, composed. "Silas Heap, I don't trust you. Leave here now, before I make you leave."

Silas was tempted to ask how she was planning to do that, but he held the urge in. "Marcia, please, give me a shot. I promise, if I don't say anything productive in five minutes, you can kick me out."

Marcia sighed, exasperated. She couldn't believe she was going to let her hormones win this fight. "Five minutes, starting now. You're losing time, Silas, hurry up!"

Silas rolled his eyes in amusement. Marcia's bossiness was part of her charm. "Okay, okay, I just want you t know that I am really sorry about what happened in the Wizard Tower that night. I wasn't trying harm you, honestly, I wasn't. I am just really interested in you Marcia, everything about you. It's not just your body, it's your personality, your spunk, your wacky sense of style, everything! I just wanted you that night, can't you see that?"

"Silas, I don't care what you wanted, a gentleman would have been able to control his hormones."

"But I am no gentleman, by now you know that surely." Silas smiled, and Marcia avoided his stare. "Not that you should hold that against me. You'll never have any fun with a gentleman, let me tell you that."

"I have no problem with gentlemen." Marcia scoffed, "I have a problem with lazy scumbags. Get out of my home, Silas, your time is up."

"No," Silas retorted obnoxiously, "it's not . I've still got thirty seconds and in these last seconds, I'm going to show you some fun." Before Marcia could do anything to prevent it, Silas was upon her again. Her threw his arms around her waist and pressed his lips onto her soft, plump ones. At last, Clarissa's curse took hold of Marcia. She had managed to fight it when Silas had been a few feet a way from her, but it had been tricky even then. Now, that he was kissing her, it was impossible. That night Marcia and Silas began a scandalous affair that was going to affect not only them, but many of their peers. By the end of Marcia and Silas's relationship, three of these peers would be dead and one would wish she was. The next few years were going to be very, very difficult indeed.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Septimus Heap…that lucky Sage beat me to it!

Author's Note: Hey, thanks to all who reviewed, as always. I want to thank Izanami's Fury especially for making me smile today. Silarse? How great is that? It's the perfect name for Silas. But don't get me wrong, all of my reviewers are wonderful. You all have interesting comments.

**I believe my strongest memories are of things that horrified me.- **Anonymous

Chapter Eight

Clarissa was lying in bed, her lover's arms draped around her like a blanket. In some ways, his touch was comforting. The badlands were quite cold at night and Clarissa was glad to have another person nearby. But recently, her lover had been making her nervous. He was becoming more and more ambitious every day. He wanted to regain his place of power more than he wanted anything else, including her. This had always hurt Clarissa but she tried to keep it from showing. Clarissa knew that she would have to enjoy her time with him while she still had it. Once he became ExtraOrdinary Wizard, he would no longer have time for her. Clarissa sighed heavily. Her world was changing so much so quickly. She wished she could return to the time she had first met her lover, when she had been young and innocent. Clarissa missed those happier times, but more than she missed the times themselves, she missed the person she had been during those times. She had still been so full of hopes and dreams. Dreams that she now recognized were childish. Clarissa hated not knowing what the future would hold, it unsettled her like nothing else. She was in love, she didn't really want anything to change. But she realized that if she ever admitted her fear of change, her lover would have nothing to do with her.

Much like Clarissa, Marcia Overstrand was also in bed with her sleeping lover, contemplating her life. She couldn't believe she had let Silas Heap make love to her like a pathetic whore. But she felt conflicted. Even though she hated herself for giving into him, some part of her soul wanted to do it again. Marcia knew it wasn't right, but she couldn't help it. Some part of her really wanted Silas and should figure out why. She knew that if she ended up making her relationship with Silas a "permanent" thing, she would have to make sure no one else knew about it. She was still ashamed. Of all the people who could have a taken Marcia's virginity, why had she let it be Silas? She didn't know what she was going to say to Silas when he woke. She had a feeling it would a very awkward conversation.

Sarah Willow was troubled as well. She had had very little sleep all week. When she did sleep, all she did was have nightmares. Sarah feared these nightmares so much that she purposely kept herself awake at night, no matter how tired she was. The dreams had been vivid and horrific. In almost every one of them, either she or a loved one ended up dead. Sarah's least favorite dream was one about her mother. In this dream, Sarah was walking through the streets of the Castle in the dark when all of a sudden, she nearly tripped on a soft, squishy object in the road. When Sarah reached down to turn the object over and see what is was, she realized in horror that it was her mother's pale corpse, lifeless and still in the cold streets. The first time Sarah had this dream, she woke up crying, but never mentioned it to anyone. Unfortunately, Sarah had the dream again. The second time around, everything was the same until the last part, when she rolled her mother's body over to see what it was. Instead of starring into her mother's cold, colorless eyes, she found herself looking into the face of a woman so familiar and horrible to her that she screamed. Galen heard her scream and rushed in to comfort her. When Galen asked what the dream was about, Sarah had simply said, "It's over, oh God, it's over." Again and again. Galen decided not to press Sarah about it. She didn't want to upset her again.

Peter O'Malley was exhausted. He had managed to get out of the Lock up through the ice tunnels and he was trying to get out of the Castle. He had every intention of returning someday and finish that bastard Silas Heap, but first he wanted to make a plan. Peter headed for the Port, he was less likely to be noticed there.

Happily for Silas, he had no idea that Peter was out to get him. He was still floating on cloud nine. He couldn't believe he had slept with Marcia. But of course, he knew it would happen eventually. It probably would have happened without Clarissa's help. Silas knew he was too charming for Marcia to resist him forever. Silas knew that at some point, he would have to fulfill his promise to DomDaniel. He would have to knock Marcia up. He knew only too well that DomDaniel only wanted him because he had the ability to produce the seventh son of the seventh son. He was also aware that DomDaniel probably wasn't going to handle procrastinating on Silas's part. The longer Silas put off having children, the longer DomDaniel would have to wait before he could come to power. Silas wanted to avoid making DomDaniel angry if he could possibly help it.

Silas's brother, Louis, was nearly as happy about his new job as Silas was about his affair with Marcia. Louis had just taken a job at the Palace and he was now around Queen Cerys many hours of the day. He found her more and more intriguing all of the time. Cerys was so kind and open minded. Louis had no idea that Cerys was meeting Milo Banda in her garden nearly every night, and so, as he became closer to the Queen, he dared to hope that she held some kind of affection for him, even if he was just a lowly Heap. But he had to stop himself from having thoughts like that, they were utterly pointless. He was a servant in the royal Palace and Cerys was Queen of the Castle. He would never be her consort and he knew it. Still, it was fun to imagine.

Milo Banda was completely unaware of Louis's feelings for Cerys. He was too caught up in his own thoughts of her. He felt as though every moment he was with Cerys was a mini paradise and he could no longer think of what his life had been like without her. But underneath all of his bliss, Milo was troubled. He knew that, if his relationship with the Queen was going to continue, they would need to make it public at some point. Milo knew that his family wouldn't approve, especially his brother, Tomas. Tomas had spent his whole life working on the Banda family's farm and he had always viewed Milo's love of travelling and exotic places as frivolous. Milo desired a good relationship with his brother, but it didn't look like that was going to happen any time soon. It certainly wouldn't if he admitted he was courting Cerys.

Cerys herself was not at all distraught or worried. She was more content than she had been in months. Milo was helping her heal the wounds left by her parents' deaths and because she was at last feeling more secure, she was becoming the kind of Queen she had wanted to be in the first place and it felt great. She had a feeling her mother would be proud. Cerys hoped her mother was watching her, wherever she was. She like to think that Elena was still involved in her life, even if Cerys could no longer see her.

While Cerys was enjoying herself, passing happy hours thinking of Milo, Peter was wandering through the streets of the Port, trying to find a place to stay. At last, he settled on a small inn on a long dock that looked out onto the river. When Peter walked into the front hall of the building, it was very dark, lit only by a few candles in some of the window ceils. It was also very cold. It took Peter a moment to recognize that he wasn't alone in the room. At the end of the long hallway, stood Frank Melvin, the same man who had declared Silas Heap was innocent that night in the tavern. Needless to say, Peter was not happy to see him.

Frank began the conversation. "Peter, my boy, what brings you here on a night like this? Did they release you from your prison or did you manage to find a way out? In any case, I'm glad you're out. I never wanted you to go in the first place, but my master needs that Silas Heap, it was the only way."

Peter was surprised. "You don't mean… You don't mean you practice **darke magyk**, do you? Frank, do you follow DomDaniel?" When Frank nodded, Peter went on. "So you were willing to sacrifice me just to help your master? Well, Frank, your master is weak now, very weak indeed. In fact, most people in the Castle believe he is dead and the few that know better still do not fear him. He is in no way a threat any longer. His followers are wasting their time. And I too am wasting my time tonight. I am wasting it by talking to you. I shall do so no longer." With those words, Peter jumped at Frank and before the old man could react, Peter had drawn his knife from his pocket and slit his throat. Frank fell to the floor, obviously dead. His blood dripped gruesomely from his neck and colored the light colored carpet a dark scarlet. Peter groaned. He was glad that there didn't seem to be anyone else in the inn lobby at that moment.

Peter was breathing hard. He was immediately shocked by his own behavior. He had now lowered himself to Silas's Heap, all because he had lost his temper. Now, he was responsible for murder. Peter knew he had to get out of the inn and fast. And so, with the speed of a jackrabbit, Peter scurried out the front door of the inn, leaving behind him Frank's corpse. He vowed to leave Silas's in the same manner someday very soon. There would be nothing more rewarding than that.

Marcia Overstrand and Silas Heap had spent all afternoon fighting. There was nothing unusual about that. When Silas and Marcia weren't in the bedroom, they were tearing each other apart. Silas rather liked his arguments with Marcia. Silas was stubborn and he liked arguments in general. They made him feel alive, passionate. Although, there was one thing that aggravated him about his fights with Marcia and that was that Marcia often won. Silas didn't understand that. Marcia was fascinating and unique, but she was only a woman. Silas felt that men were far superior to men and that if a man said something, a woman should always listen to him. But that wasn't how Marcia was and Silas was beginning to discover that. There were some days when Silas wondered if having Marcia's body was really worth all of the trouble she caused him. But late at night, when they fell into each other's arms, Marcia and Silas forgot all of their disagreements and bickering and did nothing but love one another. Silas hated it when the first rays of sunlight drifted into Marcia's small bedroom because Silas knew that it meant Marcia was getting ready to be the ultimate bitch again. Silas believed that Clarissa had ripped him off a little. While she had made Marcia be his lover, he did not feel that Clarissa had made Marcia fall in love with him, not at all. Lust, perhaps, but not love. Silas knew that Marcia watched other men when she thought he didn't see and it drove him crazy. Of course, Silas looked at other women, but that wasn't the same thing. Marcia was Silas's lover. She was a woman, they were not equals and he was getting really tired of Marcia acting as though they were.

Silas's thoughts were more or less accurate. Marcia didn't feel that she truly loved Silas, but she knew that if she left him, she would be miserable. She had become attached to him, but she still didn't know why. She no longer noticed Milo Banda in the way she had. Now, all of her thoughts were of Silas. While it was true, she did notice the other men now and again, she didn't find any of them as physically attractive as Silas. But Marcia didn't like the way Silas viewed her. He saw her the same way he saw his belongings. He saw her as property. Marcia knew this and detested it, but for some reason, she still couldn't leave Silas. Something inside of her wouldn't let her.

At last, an event occurred that seriously shook up Marcia's relationship with Silas for the worse. Alther Mella announced that he was looking for a new apprentice. Marcia had never told Silas that she desired the position of ExtraOrdinary Wizard, but she was not about to let him stop her from going to Alther and showing him her talent. Luckily for Marcia, the day Alther Mella was letting various hopefuls come to visit him, Silas was going to visit his mother. Marcia managed to sneak off to the Wizard Tower and along with many others, she met with Alther Mella. Naturally, she was very nervous, but she soon recognized that she had nothing to be worried about. Alther was lovely and patient. Marcia immediately felt at home with him in a way she had never felt at home with another person. It had always seemed to Marcia that no one really wanted her around, but Alther seemed so curious about her. It felt wonderful to be noticed. Marcia soaked up every minute of her. When Alther gave her a chance to show her **magykal **gift, she impressed him with her knowledge. Alther was a bit shocked to find that this quirky, ambitious girl was a better Wizard than Silas had been, but all the same, Alther was pleased. By the end of the day, Alther asked Marcia to be his apprentice.

Although Marcia had realized that Alther was impressed with her, she nearly squealed with excitement when he popped the question. Marcia's lifelong dream flashed before her eyes. She was going to be the ExtraOrdinary Wizard's apprentice! She might even inherit Alther's position someday, if she was good enough. When Marcia returned to her apartment that night, she had every intention of telling Silas Heap farewell and packing her belongings. She knew that, as apprentice she would have to live at the Tower and honestly, Marcia would rather have a chance to be the next ExtraOrdinary Wizard than continue her love affair. Silas wasn't worth throwing her life away for.

When Marcia arrived at her apartment, she was surprised to find Silas sitting on her bed, drinking a beer and smoking. Marcia caught her breath. She could tell by Silas's attitude that he already knew something about Marcia's promotion. He wouldn't seem so angry and pensive if he knew nothing.

"Silas," Marcia started, "I didn't expect to see you here so early." Then, Marcia got straight to the point. "Listen, I have something to tell yo-"

Silas cut her off in mid-sentence. "I already know, Marcia. The whole damn Castle knows. I guess I should bow to you, miss apprentice. I should have known you would do something like this behind my back. You're a bitch, Marcia, and bitches don't play fair. But wouldn't the Castle like to know what their wholesome, trustworthy ExtraOrdinary Apprentice has been doing for the past few months? Marcia, before today, you were a worthless whore. Alther will realize that soon enough. Once you're worthless, you'll always be worthless. But don't worry, Marcia, I don't hate you, at least not enough to waste our last night together. I have every intention of making it our most memorable yet."

Marcia opened her mouth to declare that she would _never_ sleep with Silas again, no matter how long her life lasted, when Silas pushed her to the ground. Marcia realized with horror that Silas was not only intended to rape her, he was intending to beat her up as well. Marcia struggled and fought against him, but it was no use. At the end of the night, Silas left her, battered, bruised, bleeding and weeping. That was the last night Marcia Overstrand ever passed with Silas Heap. Unfortunately, Silas had been right when he had promised her that it would be the most memorable, but it was not memorable for good reasons. It was the most violent experience Marcia Overstrand had to endure in her entire life. In some sense, it made her tougher and more prepared for other similar experiences that she would have to go through, but still Marcia never completely go over Silas's treatment of her that night. All of Alther's kind compliments seemed to vanish while Silas abused her and all she could think of were the horrific things Silas had said to her. Although Marcia never again had to sleep with Silas, he was not finished causing problems in her life. In fact, he had barely begun.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Author's Note: Hey, thanks to those of you who reviewed. Hugs and kisses for all of you. I am going to change more of Sage's plot in this chapter and the next, so be prepared. Not major league changes, I'm just going to tinker with it a little. Oh yeah, I've got one more thing to say. One of my reviewers made a very good point and I want to bring it up here. She asked me why Marcia was so hurt in Guilty Pleasures when Silas was killed. I know it seems crazy for her to feel sorry for him after the way he treated her in this story. However, I want you all to know that there is a reason she cries in GP. Oh yeah, and I want to tell you guys that, after I finish writing this, I may write a sequel to GP if I haven't worn out my welcome. So more Marcellus/Marcia fluff. Yay, I guess….. Ok, on with the new chapter.

Chapter Nine 

Marcia was in luck. Although Silas had beaten her badly, she didn't have many bruises on her face. So no one noticed anything unusual at the Apprentice Supper the next day. But when Marcia undressed that evening, she had grimaced at her legs, which were practically black and blue all over. Marcia was happy to be the apprentice, but she knew she wouldn't be able to forget the way Silas had treated her. It would take a long time for her to recover, both on the inside and the out. But as time passed, Marcia became more and more involved with her studies and she began to worry less and less. Alther was a kind understanding teacher and under his guidance, Marcia's skills as a Wizard increased. Marcia became more confident and after a while, what little feelings she had left for Silas faded entirely. Marcia became rather content. Everywhere she went people treated her with all sorts of respect. Even Marcia's parents had begun to treat her better since she had become the ExtraOrdinary Apprentice. Marcia felt that for the first time in a while, her life was getting back on track.

Silas, on the other hand, felt as though his life was spiraling out of control. DomDaniel had just discovered that Silas's lover had left him to become the ExtraOrdinary apprentice and he was losing patience with Silas. He sent Clarissa to the Castle to find Silas and speak with him. When she arrived at Silas's small flat, Silas couldn't have been less happy to see her. He had a feeling her presence could only mean trouble. He was right.

When Clarissa walked in the door, she went directly to the chair where Silas was sitting and struck him hard in the jaw. Silas recoiled in shock. He had expected Clarissa to be angry, but he hadn't expected her to hit him.

"That was from my master." Clarissa declared, as Silas rubbed his jaw.

"Can't you go away and leave me alone?" Silas snapped, irritably.

"I wouldn't be so unpleasant if I were you, Silas Heap. I come here in DomDaniel's honorable name and if you wouldn't disrespect him, you should not disrespect me either."

Silas chuckled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Why should I respect DomDaniel? Without me, DomDaniel is nothing! If I don't manage to produce seven sons, your precious master will never again come to power. It is all up to me."

Clarissa's eyes flashed with rage. "Not necessarily." she replied in an eerie tone of voice that for some reason he couldn't explain, sent chills downs Silas's spine. "My master always finds a way to make things work and this will be no exception. He doesn't need you for anything, Silas. There are other seventh sons. True, they are not common, but we can find another." Clarissa lowered her voice before continuing. "And then, after we have found a useful seventh son, my master will not hesitate to kill you." Silas felt his stomach twist. He could tell by the sound of Clarissa's voice that she was a serious as the grave. He simply nodded his head, his throat felt too dry to say anything in response to Clarissa's threat. Then, Clarissa turned around and left his flat. She knew her threat had done the trick. Silas was nervous. Right then and there, Silas knew he was going to have to get a new lover, even though he had no desire to do it. He was running out of time and not even having Marcia was worth dying for. Silas was well aware that he would not find any woman as attractive as he had found Marcia, she had been his fantasy in a lot of ways. Her body had everything Silas had wanted and he had a feeling he would be constantly holding his new lovers up to her standards. Silas also knew that he was going to have a much harder time getting women to notice him now that he was no longer the ExtraOrdinary apprentice. No one really paid any attention to him anymore. Silas was living off the checks his mother sent him once enough because he wasn't even a good enough Ordinary Wizard to keep himself afloat financially. Silas didn't know when he was going to have the opportunity to meet other girls.

As it turned out, the opportunity presented itself sooner than Silas could have hoped. Queen Cerys made a huge announcement two days after Clarissa's visit to Silas. She was getting married to a young merchant called Milo Banda. The name sounded familiar to Silas, but he didn't really care who Mil was. Silas felt relieved because he knew that the Queens of the Castle always had huge weddings and doubtlessly, Cerys would be no exception. Silas had a feeling that, if he attended the wedding, he would meet at least one girl who wouldn't mind messing around with him a few times. He could only hope.

Milo Banda was ecstatic about wedding Cerys, but he was a bit hurt as well. He had just received a horrid letter from his brother Tomas in the farmlands. Thomas made it abundantly clear that he had no intention whatsoever of going to Milo's wedding celebration. He then went on to say that he would no longer be speaking to Milo. Milo was crushed by his brother's words. He had secretly wished that his brother would come to his senses and approve of Milo's marriage to Cerys, but he should have known better. Thomas was a very stubborn man and he scarcely ever backed down from his opinions. Just a Milo suspected, Thomas didn't back down from his decision to cut all ties with Milo. He did not arrive on the night of the wedding.

The night of the wedding was a marvelous one for the entire Castle. Nearly everyone in the Castle came. One of the few people who was depressed by this grand affair was Silas's brother, Louis, who had spent the past few months falling in love with the Queen only to find that she had been in love with another man all along. It was hard for Louis to watch Cerys take her vows and promise to belong to Milo Banda until the day she died. Louis couldn't help but think of the way he would have felt had it been him up there taking vows alongside Cerys instead of Milo. Louis realized it was wrong to resent Milo. Milo had never been anything but kind to Louis. But still, he wasn't quite ready to forgive him for taking Cerys.

Marcia was also a bit gloomy at the wedding. Ever since she had stopped thinking of Silas, thoughts of Milo had begun to break into her mind once more. She wasn't quite as crazy about him as she had been before her affair with Silas, but she still liked him a little. She had to admit that. Marcia was also afraid that she was going to spend the entire wedding reception standing in the corner of the crowded Palace Ballroom. Marcia was feeling rather unnecessary and awkward when a young man whom she had never seen before approached her with and urgent look in his eyes. Marcia became a bit anxious. She didn't know this boy, what could he possibly want from her?

When he reached her, the boy whispered these words in a husky whisper. "Come with me, I need you help with something." Normally, Marcia wouldn't have gone anywhere with strangers, but there was something about this man that seemed so honest and worried that, against her better judgment, Marcia decided to follow him out of the Palace and onto the balcony. The same balcony where, in many years, Silas's Heap's life would at last meet its end.

While Marcia followed the young stranger, Sarah Willow was working up the courage to talk to Silas who she had just noticed from across the room. Sally was pushing Sarah to do it, and honestly, Sarah was tired of imagining what Silas was like. She wanted to know what it would feel like to have Silas looking at her, adoring her like he had in her dreams. And so, with her heart racing a hundred miles an hour, Sarah walked over to Silas.

"H..Hello." she began tentatively. When Silas heard her voice, he wheeled around to face her. He recognized her as the woman he had noticed in the market that day, the one he had thought looked similar enough to him to be his twin. Silas's hopes leapt at the sight of this girl. He could tell by the way she had greeted him that she was interested in him. Probably wanted him. It felt good to be wanted again.

"How are you?" asked Silas, trying to sound kind and confident. He succeeded. Sarah's face lit up, and she blushed.

"I'm fine." she stammered. Then, she couldn't help it. She blurted out, "Wow! I really can't believe I'm speaking to Silas Heap. I never really though you would ever look at me. I just…can't believe it." Sarah stopped speaking. She realized with dismay that Silas most likely thought she sounded pathetic.

Unfortunately for Sarah, Silas did indeed think she sounded like a pathetic hopeless admirer. But he was actually thankful for that sort of behavior tonight. He felt relief washing over his body like a wave washing over the sand. He had just met a woman who could potentially be the mother of his sons. He needed someone who would be desperately devoted to him. Silas decided to find out if this girl fit the bill. "What's your name, dear?" he asked.

"S..Sarah Willow." The girl replied, obviously still bursting with excitement.

"Well, Sarah," said Silas amiably, "We haven't got anything better to do. Let's talk. You seem like the kind of person I might like to know." 'Which isn't exactly false,' thought Silas to himself. Silas did want to get to know Sarah, but not for the usual reasons a man wants to get to know a woman.

Poor Sarah couldn't tell the difference. She thought she might faint with excitement. "Why, yes, oh, of course, I'd love to talk to you." That evening, Sarah told Silas everything about herself: her mother, her years with Galen, and the struggles in her life. Silas listened attentively to Sarah's every word, secretly trying to figure out a way to convince her to go to back to his flat with him, even though they had only just met. Silas knew that if he didn't start having sons soon, he would be in hot water with DomDaniel.

By the end of the evening, Milo and Cerys weren't the only ones who had had a night of passionate romance. Silas managed to succeed. Sarah had told Galen she was going to stay with Sally for the night and Sally had backed her up. She knew how crazy Sarah was about Silas. So Sarah had spent the night at Silas's flat, making love to him until the early morning hours.

Silas was amazed by himself. He had not expected to get Sarah to fall for him so quickly. But Silas didn't know of all the months Sarah had spent obsessing over him. She had an extremely blissful evening, perhaps the most blissful she had ever had.

At the same time, Marcia had just returned to the Wizard Tower. Her head was swimming. She couldn't believe the conversation she had had that night on the balcony. She was very troubled and confused, but she had promised _him_ she wouldn't tell anyone anything. It was going to have to stay a secret. For the first time since she had become the apprentice, Marcia felt miserable. She didn't sleep at all that night.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Angie Sage is the owner not yours truly

Author's Note: Thanks to all who reviewed. One of the events that occurs in this chapter in something most of my reviewers predicted from a mile away. But it has to happen in order for the story to work. I apologize for that. I try to surprise you guys when I can. Hey you can look at this like the Boy 412 is Septimus thing. I mean, who didn't know 412 was Septimus fifty pages into the book? Anyway, I hope you like this.

Chapter Ten

Peter O'Malley was uneasy. He had had to lie to Marcia Overstrand the previous evening to get her to agree to his plan. While they were out on the balcony, he had told her that Silas was dangerous and that he was in league with DomDaniel. Peter said that DomDaniel was paying Silas to help him satge his takeover. Peter wasn't sure if Silas really was helping DomDaniel, but he didn't put it past him. Besides, old Frank had been working for him. If Frank was willing to join DomDaniel's cause, surely Silas was. In any case, Peter had known that, in order to get Marcia on his side, he had to make Silas look like the ultimate scumbag. Luckily for Peter, Marcia seemed to feel this way about Silas already, so by the time the night ended, Peter had managed to convince Marcia that Silas was an enormous criminal who was threatening the safety of the Castle. He also told Marcia the truth about what had occurred that night in the Tavern and to his amazement, Marcia believed him. She said that she had always thought Silas was responsible for the deaths of both Tiffany and Griffen the bar tender. Marcia didn't trust Clarissa either. Peter told Marcia that he had come to her rather than to Alther because Alther still supported Silas Heap and thought he was an honest, good man. Peter explained that he needed Marcia's power to stop Silas, which was true, more or less. But Peter had another reason for seeking Marcia's help above any of the other Wizards. He knew that, if anyone in the Castle happened to recognize him as a convict, he would have Marcia on his side. As ExtraOrdinary Apprentice, Marcia's opinion mattered at least a little. She might even be able to persuade Alther to listen to Peter's side of the story. Peter longed to clear his name and be accepted in the Castle once more. But he didn't want to live in a city that freely allowed a horrid man like Silas Heap to live within its walls. Peter knew he wouldn't be able to truly relax until he had either brought Silas to justice or killed him.

Marcia was still feeling conflicted. After she had met with Peter O'Malley, she had come to the conclusion that she could trust him, even though the Castle viewed him as a crook. She was still shocked by Peter's news about Silas. Of course, Marcia did not trust Silas. She found him atrocious and distasteful and yet, she had never even imagined that he could be working with a despicable person like DomDaniel. What was even worse was, according to Peter, DomDaniel seemed to be gaining strength and power once more. Marcia knew that she should probably mention that to Alther, but then Alther would want to know where she had heard that information and she would have to tell him about Peter. And, unfortunately, Peter was right. Alther did trust Silas. It would be hard to convince him that Silas was in the wrong. Marcia grimaced at the thought of Alther siding with Silas against her. She knew that, if she joined Peter and defeated Silas, Alther would be furious. He might even cancel her apprenticeship to him. Marcia couldn't bear to think about that. **Magyk **had practically become her world and she couldn't even imagine how desolate her life would without it. She had worked so hard to get where she was, she didn't want to lose everything she had ever worked for. But if Silas was truly trying to assist DomDaniel in his schemes, then Marcia felt obligated to end his attempts to harm the Castle. She just felt so torn. Peter had told her he would come for her when the time to finish Silas was right. Marcia couldn't really picture herself "finishing" off anyone, but she knew that if she had to kill one person, she wouldn't mind killing Silas. She just hoped that everything would work out, but she didn't see how it could. She knew she was going to have to pick a side eventually and just the thought of picking made Marcia's head spin. It was going to be very challenging.

Over the next few weeks, Alther noticed a change in Marcia's demeanor. For one thing, she was snappier than she had ever been and Alther had had to tell her to "watch her mouth" on several occasions. Marcia also seemed distant and kind of sad, as if she was contemplating something. When Alther tried to get her to discuss it, Marcia wouldn't give him a straight answer. Alther was worried for his young apprentice whom had grown very fond of. He could tell something was bothering her, but he knew Marcia well enough to know that she was just to admit what it was that was getting on her nerves. He would just have to wait until she was ready to talk about it. But Alther was aware that he might be waiting a long time.

Meanwhile, in the Forest, Sarah Willow was distraught. She had just come to an inescapable conclusion. She was pregnant with Silas Heap's child. Since the night of the Queen's wedding, Sarah had passed four more nights at Silas's flat. She always told Galen she was going to see Sally and naturally, Galen believed her. Sarah had never lied to her before and Galen didn't know why she would start now. Sarah felt wretched. Galen had trusted her and she had betrayed her. Of course, Galen didn't know about Sarah's condition yet, but soon she would and she was likely to be horribly disappointed when she found out. Sarah had no doubt that Galen believed she was still pure. Sarah also knew that the chances of a man wanting to marry her after she had had a child out of wedlock were slim. That was not how things were done in the Castle. That didn't really bother Sarah though. The only man she ever wanted to marry was Silas and she had a feeling Silas wouldn't desert her when she told him about the baby. Still, it was going to be hard to tell him that she had been foolish enough to let herself get knocked up. Sarah decided that she was going to tell Sally first. Sally tended to understand things like this. But Sarah knew that even Sally would be upset. At least Sally had known Sarah was sleeping with Silas. That would make her story a bit easier to tell. So for the first time in over a month, when Sarah told Galen she going to visit Sally Mullin, she was telling the truth.

Clarissa was bleeding and DomDaniel didn't seem to care. He was furious that Silas Heap had not even managed to conceive his first child yet and he blamed his misfortune on his followers. Unfortunately, that included Clarissa. Deep down, DomDaniel didn't really enjoy torturing Clarissa like he did his other minions, but still, he wasn't above giving her a little pain every now and again. She needed to remember who was in charge. On this day, DomDaniel was beating up Clarissa and two of his other followers who had agreed that allowing Silas Heap to join DomDaniel's cause was a good idea. He had beaten Clarissa especially badly because she had seemed very unenthusiastic during their lovemaking the night before. That offended DomDaniel because he felt that any woman should be honored to have him as a lover and not act as though she was bored to tears with his company. It was disrespectful and he was determined to teach Clarissa some manners, whatever it took. DomDaniel wasn't about to kill her though. He needed followers like Clarissa to support him and his decisions.

Silas Heap had just finished eating lunch when there was a knock on the door of his flat. "Yes?" he called out, "Yes, who is it? Who's there?"

"Silas, darling, it's me." Sarah's voice called from behind the door. "Can you let me in?"

Silas groaned. Couldn't Sarah leave him alone for a few days? He was getting rather tired of seeing her. "Yes, Sarah, please come inside, make yourself comfortable."

Sarah had scarcely closed the door when she burst into hysterics. "Oh Silas! Silas, I have some awful news. I made a dreadful mistake. I hope you'll forgive me, please say you'll forgive me. I didn't mean to do it?"

Silas was confused. "Didn't mean to do what, Sarah? What are you going on about? Calm down, and tell me what has happened. Nothing could be this bad, could it?"

Sarah gulped. How wrong he was! "Silas, Galen's asked me to leave her home in the Forest."

"What? Why?"

"Because..Because I was honest with her about a mistake I made, and she was so hurt and disappointed that she asked me to leave her home. Silas, Galen was like a second mother to me! She told me I could come and see her sometimes, but I can no longer live with her. Silas, I don't know where I'll go or what I'll do. I'm going to stay with Sally for a while but after that-"

"Woah, woah, Sarah slow down!" Silas exclaimed, trying to take it all in. "What was your mistake? What could you have possibly done?"

Sarah a deep breath and said, "Silas, I'm pregnant. I'm having your child. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to get pregnant, I really didn't. I just wanted to love you and one thing led to another. Galen doesn't understand that though. I don't know if she'll ever really forgive me. It's awful, Silas, it's just awful. I feel the way I did when my mother left me, so alone. I bet you'll be angry with me too. It's all right to admit it."

Silas tried not to show it, but his heart leapt for joy. Sarah was having his child? How convenient was that? Perhaps he would manage to impress DomDaniel after all. "There, there, love," he whispered softly, taking Sarah into his arms. "I'm certainly not angry with you. This is as much my fault as it is yours. I mean, you wouldn't be pregnant without me, right?" Sarah laughed in spite of her dire situation. At least Silas was taking this well.

Silas went on. "Anyway, I'm sorry Galen in being so terrible about this, but I want you to know that you'll never be alone. I'll always be with you, Sarah. In fact, I want you to be with me the rest of my life. I know we haven't known one another that long, but I feel as though I have known you my whole life. Sarah, I want to have many children. You are fulfilling one of my dreams right now. Think of how happy we could be together. We could get a room in the Ramblings and raise a family. Will you marry me, Sarah? I promise I'll make you and all of our future children very happy." Silas got down on one knee, praying that he didn't sound cheesy. He needed Sarah to believe him so that they could marry and she could have his sons. Granted, he still wished it was Marcia Overstrand he was proposing to and not Sarah, but all the same, he was grateful to have someone to help him complete his task.

"Oh yes Silas!" cried Sarah, kissing him full of the lips. "Yes, I would love to be your wife! I thought you'd never ask me. Oh I just love you so much! You don't have any idea. This is wonderful, it truly is. I just don't know what to say." Sarah's eyes glistened with tears of joy. Silas was trying to act as excited as Sarah, but he couldn't quite manage it. Luckily for him, Sarah didn't notice.

Suddenly, there was another knock on the door which interrupted Sarah and Silas's brief moment of happiness. The person knocking barged in without permission. It was one of Silas's few friends, Joe Turner, and he looked overwhelmed. "Silas," he said, his voice shaking, "I've got something to tell you that won't wait." Then, glancing at Sarah who was sitting on Silas's lap, he said, "You alone can know this, Silas."

Silas nodded. "Sarah, I promise I'll be back in a moment."

"Okay." murmured Sarah, a little unhappy that her happy moment had been ruined. When Silas was in the next room over, Sarah crept to the door to overhear what the conversation was about. She couldn't make out much. She heard Silas say, "Dead? All three of them? How could they be? And her, oh my God, she was too young. I probably.."

"Silas, don't blame yourself." Joe was saying, then he lowered his voice again and Sarah could no longer make out what he was saying.

Finally, Silas stopped whispering and said something audible again. "What can I do, Joe? You said there was something I could do."

Joe replied a low, steady voice. "There is a very, very old man who lives on Snake Slipway who knows about this type of thing. I bet he will tell you how to reach the land of the dead. It's the only way."

"Wait, Joe, hang on. I didn't know there was a land of the dead. What am I missing?"

"Oh you bet there's a land of the dead! It's for those who die in true turmoil. You have to find it Silas. Go to Snake Slipway, it's the only way."

"All right." Silas muttered, "I promise, I'll go." Silas realized this was his chance to be a hero. He wasn't about to miss that.

"Good. Oh and Silas?"

"Yes?"

"I wish you all the luck in the world." Joe said, quietly. "I think you might need it."

"T..Thank you." Silas replied. He was beginning to get a very bad feeling about this. As soon as John left the flat, Silas turned to Sarah and asked, "Sarah, love, would you allow me to be gone for a few days, maybe five or so? I need to accomplish some things before we set a wedding date."

Sarah was a bit put out that Silas wasn't going to tell her about his conversation with Joe, but she already knew what it was about anyway. She knew where Silas was going and she didn't want him to go there. But she didn't have the courage to say no to him. Besides, she didn't want him to know she had been eavesdropping. Then he might stop trusting her. "Of course." She replied simply, all the energy gone from her.

"Good. Thank you." Silas said, "I'll be back before you even know I'm gone. You're welcome to stay here while I'm gone."

"When will you leave, Silas?"

"Tonight, after supper."

"Oh I will miss you so!" Sarah cried, flinging her arms around Silas. "I don't want to lose you."

"Sarah! Don't be daft! You won't, trust me." Sarah did trust Silas, so she simply smiled at him and said exactly what she had heard Joe say earlier.

"Good Luck, Silas." She said and she meant it with all her heart. Sarah and Joe were right to wish Silas luck. He was most certainly going to need it.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Septimus Heap

Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry I didn't update yesterday, I have a ton of tests this week. My teachers are being harsh. Anyway, I am having a bit of block. Yep, that's right, you didn't hear me wrong. At first, I couldn't figure out what the trouble was, but after thinking about it for a little while I realized the awful truth: I miss being able to kill people off. By writing a prequel, I can't really make up a lot of drama of my own because I have to follow the canon at least a little bit. It's quite frustrating for someone like me. So bear with me guys, but I am pretty stressed out and bothered, but still I owe you an update. But I am most certainly writing a sequel to GP. But I am warning you, it's not going to be quite as sweet as the first one. Not all of my primary characters live. Also there are relationship problems like failed marriages, nasty women, you know, that sort of thing. You can tell me if you don't want me to post it, it is a bit darker. In any case back to Silarse. He gets sidetracked on his way to the land of the dead and things don't turn out so good. Oh yes, and I realize Marcellus didn't live on Snake Slipway at the beginning of the series, but I am changing that to make things a little more interesting. Who cares about Una Brakett and Weasel anyway? For the purposes of this story, we'll just say they lived in another house. I hope you like this chapter, even if it's a bit short. Oh yeah, in the last few paragraphs of the last chapter, I made a typo- a big one. I wanna see who can find it first, just for kicks. All right, I'll stop talking now.

Chapter Eleven

Unfortunately for Sarah, Silas did not return any time soon. The entire Castle expected that he was dead. Everyone knew his story now. Silas had gone after the ExtraOrdinary Apprentice who had been kidnapped. No one knew by whom. The night Marcia Overstrand disappeared, three innocent men were killed. Among the men who lost their lives was Louis Heap. The word on the street was, Silas was travelling to the land of dead, a place where no one, not even Alther dared to go, to save his brother's soul. He was also searching for Marcia Overstrand, who had just disappeared. Most people were sure she had been kidnapped, it was just a logical thing to think. However, there were a few who had never entirely trusted her and they believed she might have run away to carry out some kind of scheme she wouldn't be able to carry out within the Castle walls. Sarah was one of those who believed this.

Cerys was baffled by the whole thing. She had no idea who would have the nerve to just waltz into her city and terrorize her people. Louis had been one of her favorite servants. One night he had gone to visit two of his old friends, and the next day, the bodies of Louis and his childhood companions were found lying side by side in Louis's friend's apartment. All three men were dead, but no one could figure out how it had happened. There were some people who suspected that the same people who killed Queen Elena had killed these men. But the same question was in everyone's head: Why? Why would someone want to harm three innocent friends? Apparently, whoever had murdered them had not only wanted to harm them, they had wanted to sentence them to an afterlife in turmoil. Everyone in the Castle knew that only a necromancer could sentence a person to turmoil and nobody wanted to think about what troubles awaited the Castle if there really was a necromancer nearby. It would mean the worst kind of problems, no two ways about that.

Sarah was miserable. Not only was she worried about Silas, but she was also beginning to show signs of pregnancy. When Sarah walked down the streets of the Castle, she noticed that the other women were starting to fix her with icy glares. She knew why. Unwed mother were extremely unwelcome in the Castle. Before long, all who had known Sarah previously now denied ever having spoken to her. Only Sally supported her through it all. Eventually, people were referring to Sarah as a slut behind her back. That was the final straw. Sarah stopped making trips into the city after that. She didn't want to be utterly ashamed every day of her life anymore.

Meanwhile, far into the farmlands, Silas(arse) was spending the night a thrilling night in a whore house. He had barely given his fiancée a thought since he had left the Castle and it hadn't taken him too long to realize that he didn't really care about saving his brother's soul or Marcia for that matter. Marcia was most likely dead and Louis already was. Silas knew that, even if he did manage to save Marcia, it wouldn't make her love him. It was better if she was dead. Silas felt that, if he couldn't have her, no one should. Besides, Silas didn't even know how to get to the land of the dead. Supposedly, a person could only reach it of he or she really desired to help a tortured soul more than they desired anything else. Silas knew he had only desired to reach the land of the dead because he had wanted to return to the Castle as a hero. Now, that he was out of the Castle, though, he didn't really care. His only worry was that DomDaniel would find him and murder him. Silas knew that DomDaniel had doubtlessly murdered his brother. It was his way of trying to provoke Silas. At this point, Silas didn't really care. If DomDaniel was going to murder him, he wanted to live up every moment of life he had left. And that was why, when Silas had seen this whorehouse on the side of the road, he hadn't hesitated to go inside. Whorehouses weren't legal in the Castle, and Silas had never thought he would lucky enough to see one, let alone be _inside _one.

The girl Silas was with on this night was a scrawny girl with wispy ginger curls. Silas couldn't remember her name, but it didn't matter. He didn't care really. It wasn't as if he was going to see her again. Silas remembered listening to that old man on Snake Slipway ramble on about his dead wife just before Silas had set off on his journey and Silas had made a mental note to avoid marriage at all costs. There was no way he wanted to end up like that man, who had obviously been henpecked by his wife his whole life. Silas figured his wife had just died. The poor man looked like he was over four hundred years old. There was no way Silas wanted to marry Sarah if marriage did _that _to you.

Marcia had not been kidnapped. She had run off to join Peter O'Malley. She had every intention of returning to the Castle, but she had made her decision. She was going to help Peter finish Silas first. If Silas's was really supporting the **darke** side, it wouldn't be safe to let him live. Aside from that, Marcia was still furious with him for taking an advantage of her. She hoped Alther wasn't too worried about her, even though she knew he would be. But she couldn't tell him what she was doing or why she had left. He just wouldn't understand.

Peter had become quite fond of Marcia during the months they had been living together. He loved her quirkiness and her quick temper. Often Peter and Marcia argued, but like Silas, Peter actually liked his fights with Marcia. They made him feel alive, full of energy. He had never met a girl who would challenge him as she did. Peter and Marcia were residing right outside of the Port, and Peter could tell Marcia missed the Castle. Sometimes, she was easy to read. He knew her ambition was to be the ExtraOrdinary Wizard and he believed that, if she remained as focused as she was, she would get there. After living alongside her for three months, Peter finally became Marcia's lover. Ironically, it was the same night Silas Heap spent in the whorehouse. Peter felt that making love to Marcia should mean more than it did. It certainly seemed to mean a lot to her. She had loved it, he could tell. Peter had wanted to love it, he really had. The thing was, Peter had expected that it would make him love Marcia. He was smitten with her, he knew that, but he still didn't think he loved her. He didn't feel any different than he had before they had become intimate. But of course, he didn't tell Marcia that. He figured that the way he felt about Marcia was the closest he would ever come to being in love. Peter was beginning to see that he just wasn't one of those mushy guys, it was foolish to even hope he might become one.

Finally, about a month after Peter and Marcia had begun their affair, Marcia awoke to the feeling of Peter shaking her. "W..what? Peter! God, let me sleep."

"Marcia, listen to me. Silas is nearby. Tonight is the night. We need to finish him. Now." When Marcia heard Peter's words, she awoke from her sleepy trance. They were both good and bad. Marcia knew that, once they got Silas out of the way, she would be able to return to the Castle. But she also had a feeling that that would mean the end of her romantic relationship with Peter. The whole Castle viewed him as a convict. Marcia was beginning to wonder if being ExtraOrdinary was worth losing what she had begun with him. His partnership meant more to her than almost anything else. It was amazing how quickly it had overtaken her life.

"Peter, are you sure?" she asked, trying to hide the nervousness in her tone.

"Positive." Peter replied, "But we can't just sit here, we've got to try and stop him. Here, get some clothes on and follow me. I think I know where to go."

Marcia sill looked unsure. Peter was becoming a little exasperated. "Look, Marcia, Silas is out there. Don't you trust me?"

Marcia nodded without thinking. Of course she trusted him, he had never given her any reason not to.

"Well, all right then." Marcia didn't say anything else. Quickly, she dressed herself and followed Peter out into the chilly night.

Sure enough, Peter was right. Silas Heap was walking down the path past Peter's home. Peter's home had previously been abandoned and to any passer's by, it probably appeared haunted. The first time Marcia had seen it, she had had to fight an overwhelming urge to run away. Silas appeared to be alone. Peter elbowed Marcia in the ribs. Marcia understood. The time had come to fight Silas. She was actually a bit uneasy. Even though Marcia hated Silas, deep down, she didn't want to kill him. She didn't see herself as a murderess, it just didn't fit.

Peter, however, didn't hesitate to lay into Silas. Within a moment, Peter was had jumped onto Silas, holding his knife dangerous close to Silas's throat. Silas, had had been completely unprepared for that, screamed in horror. Marcia paused. Silas's screams were horrific and Marcia didn't know if she could bear them. She didn't want to cause someone else this kind of pain. But then she saw the desperate look in Peter's eyes and knew what she had to do. Peter needed her help and she wasn't about to let him down. Without thinking, Marcia hurled a **thunderflash **at Silas. Memories of him abusing her body had begun to fill her mind as she cast her curse.

Sadly for Marcia, her curse missed Silas entirely. Marcia was still an apprentice and therefore, her aim wasn't perfect yet. She heard Peter insult her and she didn't try to stop him. She didn't blame him at all. He had needed her help and she had failed to provide him with it.

Then, just as Peter was about to slice Silas's throat, another flash of **magykal **power shot across the night sky. This time, it was Marcia who screamed. She tumbled to the ground, limp and lifeless. Across the clearing, a taunting voice was heard. Silas knew it at once. It was Clarissa.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid girl!" she cried, "Didn't Alther ever tell you not to harm those who support my master? You expected that Silas Heap would be alone, didn't you? I bet it never even occurred to you that he might have someone to back him up. In fact, he didn't even know I was here tonight. Surprise, Silas, you thank me later."

Silas and Peter were stunned. Peter pocketed his knife and ran over to Marcia, taking her in his arms. Silas was in shock. Marcia Overstrand had tried to kill him? Why? What was she doing with Peter O'Malley? And why was Clarissa following him? His questions were endless, but he was too afraid to say anything more.

Clarissa addressed Peter. "Let this girl's death be a warning to you. I'm only releasing you because you no longer reside in the Castle. But know this, you filthy son of a bitch, if you ever so much as lay a finger on one of my master's followers again, you'll be dead before you know what's happening. Now, come on Silas, let's go." Silas was still stunned. "Oh hurry up, I haven't got all night!"

Silas followed Clarissa out of the clearing, still too stunned to speak. Peter watched them go until they were no more than a couple of tiny speck many yards away. He sighed and closed his eyes. What was he to do now?


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: All of this stuff belongs to Angie Sage

Author's Note: All right, thanks to all those who have read this so far. I love hearing your opinions. This chapter is for Iluvcatz and for Izanami's Fury for supporting me through everything I have written on this site so far, good or bad. You guys are the best kind of supporters. Please, stay wonderful. Oh yes, and feel free to request any kind of story in the future. I'll write anything you guys want me to, I owe you that much at least. I know my chapters have been extremely short this week and I apologize for that. It has been a very busy week at school. But thanks as always for your encouragement.

Chapter Twelve

As Silas followed Clarissa, his mind was whirling. He was still replaying the scene he had just witnessed, trying to understand it. In those few moments, Silas had seen two people he had never expected to see again. He had assumed they were dead. Now, apparently, Marcia was. Silas knew he should be glad about this, after all, it meant that no other man would ever have access to her. But Silas just couldn't be happy about it. He was surprised by himself really. He almost felt angry enough with Clarissa to hurt her, and she had just saved his life. Marcia had just attempted to murder him, for God's sake! Why was he so bent out of shape over her death? Long ago, Silas had convinced himself that he would never have any kind of affection for a particular girl. Silas felt that that would take the fun out of his love life. As long as Silas loved women's bodies and not the women themselves, he would never have to deal with the emotion problems love caused. But, Silas reasoned with himself, it wasn't like he was in love with Marcia, he had simply been fascinated by her body. Silas groaned to himself. Why did Marcia always manage to make his life so complicated? Even in death, she was still tormenting him. He just didn't understand it.

Clarissa was walking a little ahead of Silas. She was shocked that he had not yet asked what it was that had made her follow him that day, or even more important, where she was taking him now. Clarissa figured Silas was still in a state of uneasiness because he had not even dared to venture a comment. Clarissa decided to break the ice.

"Silas, why so silent? Aren't you going to thank the woman who saved your life?"

"Thank you." Silas mumbled, still a prey to his own thoughts.

"Is that all you're going to say?"

Silas didn't respond. What could he say? He wasn't exactly happy Clarissa had killed Marcia. In a sense, he was thankful that Clarissa had arrived just in time to save him, but he didn't understand why she had had to _kill_ Marcia. Couldn't she have killed Peter instead? He was the one truly attacking Silas after all.

"Silas, I just saved your sorry ass, and I didn't have to. In fact, I wouldn't have if my master had not sent for you. Look Silas, you're as easy to read as an open book! You're upset because I finished off that Marcia Overstrand girl. But let me tell you, she had it coming. It's not like she wasn't going to have an early death. My master wouldn't have hesitated to kill her if he were in my place and eventually, he would have. So don't look so glum, Silas. You'll find another woman, you always do. Why, I bet in a month, you won't even remember Marcia."Clarissa snickered a little at Silas's shallow behavior. She completely believed the words she had just spoken. That would be very typical of Silas to move on that quickly.

Silas, however, was insulted. He felt as though Clarissa had not only insulted Marcia, but him as well. She had made it sound like he was some kind of ignorant sleaze, which he most certainly was not. Silas was becoming pretty fed up with both DomDaniel and Clarissa. They obviously thought he was stupid and were only keeping him around until he could produce a seventh son. After he managed to do that, DomDaniel would most likely murder him, Silas was intelligent enough to know that much at least. So at that moment, Silas made a choice. He wasn't going to put up with Clarissa's attitude a moment longer. Silas intended to give her a piece of his mind.

Without really thinking about what he was doing, Silas rushed toward Clarissa and threw her to the ground. Clarissa tried to free herself from Silas's grasp, but to no avail. Silas knew he was lucky. If he had not taken her by surprise, he never would have taken Clarissa down so easily. Then before Clarissa could do anything but struggle, Silas pushed her head up against a large rock, much like her had thrown Tiffany's head up against the wall of his bedroom all those months ago. Clarissa was made of sterner stuff than Tiffany had been though. Although she lost consciousness , Clarissa did not die. Silas was too foolish to recognize this, though. All he noticed was that Clarissa's body was quiet and still, just as Tiffany's had been and Silas guessed she was dead. He sighed with relief and pushed Clarissa's "body" away from the dirt path she and Silas had been treading across. There, hopefully, no one would find her, at least for a little while.

Now, that he had managed to get Clarissa out of the way, Silas had only once place he truly wanted to go. He wanted to reach the land of the Dead and to do that, he was going to have to sneak back into the Castle and get a little more information from that strange old man, Marcellus Pye. Silas had no intention of staying in the Castle any longer than he had to. He didn't want Sarah to find out her was there. Silas recalled that Marcellus had told him that it might be possible to save his brother from turmoil if he travelled to the land of the dead, but it wasn't his brother's soul Silas wanted to save.

When Silas reached Snake Slipway in the Castle, night had fallen and he was less worried about being seen. It felt good to be within the Castle walls once more. Silas knew he would never see another place as his home, no matter how hard he tried.

Nervously, Silas rapped on Marcellus's door, half afraid the old man would be asleep, it was rather late. After a moment, Silas knocked again. There was no answer. Just as Silas gave a desperate third knock, the door came swinging open to reveal Marcellus, who smiled an almost toothless grin at Silas. "Come in, Silas Heap." he said, "I was expecting you."

At the same time, in the Forest, Sarah Willow was having a hard time sleeping. Galen had heard about the way the citizens of the Castle had been treating Sarah, and, although she was still upset with her, Galen couldn't bear to see people treat Sarah that way. She had come to the conclusion that she had to take Sarah back in. Sarah was a good person and Galen knew that all people make mistakes. Galen also felt sorry for her young ward. Sarah had obviously been abandoned by her lover, which had to be hard on her. Galen had never been one for love herself. She tried to avoid drama if at all possible.

Sarah could feel her child moving inside of her as she slept. Each night, she prayed that Silas would return for her. She wanted to marry him so badly. She was sick of being regarded as the city whore. She wouldn't care so much about what the public thought of her if she could have Silas. He just needed to come home to her. She had begun to worry about him all of the time. She wanted to marry before the baby came, but now, she was beginning to think that was out of the question. Her child would be here in less than three months and there was no sign of Silas's return. Sarah was well aware that Galen didn't think he was returning ever again, and if Sarah were honest with herself, she would have to admit that occasionally, that possibility did cross her mind. But she always became angry with herself for thinking such thoughts immediately after she thought them. How could she doubt Silas? Her trusting, true, wonderful Silas? She knew he would never cheat on her. He was too good a person to do that. Sometimes, Sarah wondered if she was truly worthy of Silas's affection. She was certain that he was a much better person than she ever thought about being.

After Sarah had finally fallen into a fitful doze, Silas emerged from Marcellus's house on Snake Slipway, his head once more busing with information. He now knew how to reach the land of the dead. It was to be a long and perilous journey, but Silas felt as though he had the strength to go through with it. Finding it was the only way he could save Marcia according to this Marcellus fellow and, Silas knew that, with the way he had treated Marcia, the least he could do is save her soul from eternal turmoil.

Peter O'Malley was making the same journey Silas was, even though he had no way of knowing it. Peter had been taught the way to the land of the dead many years ago by his grandfather, who believed in that sort of thing. Peter had never imagined that he would ever travel to that unknown place, but he had a feeling it was the only way he was going to be able to spare Marcia from death and perhaps, **restore** her to life. As Peter set out on his travels, he didn't have any idea that he would not be travelling alone. In fact, in the next week, he was going to cross paths with a man whom he had always detested, but by that time, both Peter and his rival would recognize that neither man could make the journey by himself. They would have to use each other for help to reach a common goal.

On Snake Slipway, Marcellus Pye was still awake, contemplating his talk with Silas. Marcellus couldn't help but wonder what this Marcia Overstrand was like. She'd have to be one heck of a woman to make lazy Silas Heap willing to journey all the way to the land of the dead to rescue her. Marcellus kind of hoped he would get to at least see her if Silas ever came back. Marcellus smiled to himself. He had always loved looking at pretty women and this woman would doubtlessly be stunning. What Marcellus didn't realize as he prepared himself for bed is just how attractive he would find Marcia. But of course, he wouldn't actually know her anytime soon. That was for a later chapter of his life.

Clarissa was at last awaking from her slumber. She had a terrible bump on her head and many cuts and bruises, but other than that, she was unharmed. And more importantly, the life growing inside of her was unharmed. Clarissa had yet to inform her master that she was carrying his child, she didn't know how he would take it. But tonight, she decided, was the night to do it. She would tell DomDaniel that Silas Heap was a traitor and couldn't be trusted. Then, she would tell her master her news. Surely, DomDaniel would want the support of his own child over the support of some stupid seventh son of the seventh son who didn't even exist yet. Clarissa began making her way back to the badlands, unaware that her talk with DomDaniel was going to go very, very badly.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Come on, folks, you know I don't own this stuff

Author's Note: Thanks as always to my reviewers. School is still very hard. I have a teacher we all call Cruella De Ville and her tests are brutal. This chapter is for Artemisia Thripp, who has also supported me for a supported me since the beginning. You didn't honestly think I was going to leave you out, did you? There's a reason this chapter is yours. It's after midnight and I'm really tired but I owe this to you guys. I hope it all makes sense! Anyway, thanks to all who have read this, here's the next chapter.

Chapter Thirteen

Silas was starving and lost. He was still miles from his destination and he was completely out of food and supplies. He was beginning to recognize how stupid he had been to make this journey alone. He could easily be killed. Silas didn't even think saving Marcia was worth dying for, but in the back of his mind, he knew he couldn't live with himself if he didn't at least attempt to help her. In some ways, Silas hated himself for becoming so fond of Marcia. It made him weaker. Silas knew he shouldn't care about one particular girl, but here he was, putting his precious life on the line for the sake of a woman who would probably never sleep with him again. Silas was angry with himself.

Peter was having the exact same problems as Silas, though he did not know it. He too was out of food and supplies. Peter wanted so badly to reach the land of the dead, but he was intelligent enough to realize that he was never going to be able to complete his travels alone. Sadly for Peter, there was only one other man willing to journey all the way to the land of the dead and that was his rival, Silas Heap. Peter wanted nothing more than to end Silas's pathetic life, but he was beginning to recognize that he might have to bear with Silas to reach his goal. Surely, if they were both trying to reach Marcia, they could try to tolerate each other for a short period of time. So for once in his life, Peter was actually searching for Silas for some reason other than to kill him. There would be time for that later.

Clarissa was having an extremely wretched evening. She, like Peter and Silas, was alone. However, Clarissa didn't have a goal. She had no idea where to go or what to do. When she had told DomDaniel she was carrying his child, she had expecting him to be pleased, maybe even ecstatic. Instead he had been furious. He had demanded that Clarissa leave his sight and never return. When she refused, he had beaten until she had given in. He had also made her promise never to expose her child to **darke magyk**. He assured her that, if she ever did this, he wouldn't hesitate to kill her. At first, Clarissa couldn't understand why DomDaniel hated the idea of having a child so much, but then, I dawned on her. DomDaniel didn't want anyone to take his place and he was afraid that his child's power might surpass his own. Still, Clarissa was incredibly hurt. Following DomDaniel had been the goal of her life for the past three years. She had no clue what she wanted to do with herself now. She had lost her leader, her comrade, her lover. Clarissa could only think of one thing she truly desired to do at this point and that was kill Silas Heap. She wanted to make sure DomDaniel never even saw the seventh of the seventh who he apparently deemed more worthy to assist him than his own child. Unfortunately for Silas, Clarissa knew a short cut to the land of the dead. She intended to be there to "greet" him when he arrived. Clarissa smiled in anticipation. At least she would have fun finishing Silas. It would be like killing two birds with one stone. Not only would killing Silas irk DomDaniel, but it would also give Clarissa great pleasure. She had gotten rather tired of saving his sorry ass just because her master had asked her to.

Peter ran into Silas in a bar, where they had both stopped to get a drink. It had been the first building either man had seen for miles. When Peter entered the room, Silas was already wasted. When he saw Peter, he laughed, a hearty good natured chuckle. This was how Peter knew he was drinking before he even noticed the beer next to Silas. If Silas were in his right mind, he would be attempting to harm Peter. After all, less than three days earlier, Peter had nearly killed him.

Silas was so drunk that he could recall nothing of the sort. All he knew was that he recognized Peter and he was eager to have someone to drink with. Silas made a hand gesture, motioning for Peter to join him at the bar. Peter smiled to himself. This was going to be pretty easy.

"Silas, what a surprise." Peter said, even though he had never been less surprised in his life.

"Hey," yelled Silas. He didn't realize how loud and obnoxious he was being. "I know you!" Although he said these words, they were hard to make out. He had slurred them rather badly. It took all of Peter's nerves to keep from strangling Silas. He was such a bum.

"Silas, I think I owe you an apology."

"Nah!" shouted Silas, downing another shot, "What's done is done, Peter, just with drink with me. Besides, I could do with your help anyway. There's a sweet little place I'm tryin' to get to and I think you know the way. It's called the land of the-"

"Shut up!" hissed Peter, "We can't talk about that here! Are you mad? I think so!" Then, thinking about what he had just said, Peter decided to be a bit kinder. He was still trying to win Silas over. "Look, Silas, I'll talk to you about this later. Let's get out of here so we can discuss things. Come with me." Peter grabbed Silas by his shirt sleeve and dragged him out of the bar. It was not an easy task. Silas was struggling very much.

Once Peter had last gotten Silas outside, he convinced him that he knew the way to the land of the dead and that he needed to someone to make the trip with him. Peter was lucky. Silas was so drunk that he agreed with everything Peter suggested. Sadly for Peter, Silas had a terrible hangover the next day and his atrocious attitude completely made up for his pleasant behavior while he was drunk. It was going to be a long trip, but Marcia was worth anything.

If Sarah Willow had known that Silas was risking his whole future to save another woman, she would have been crushed. She was now so pregnant she could barely move. She was so lonely and upset. She knew all the women in the city were still talking about her, and why wouldn't they? It was exciting news to have an unwed mother to gossip about. The women of the Castle could be truly cruel when they wanted to be. Sarah just wanted her Silas. Even Sally was trying to convince her that Silas wasn't coming back. She seemed sure that Silas was dead. Sarah prayed that that wasn't true. She would rather see him leave her than have to know he was dead. But she was beginning to suspect the worst as well. She was still positive that Silas would never leave her. She desperately wanted to see him again, to touch his face, run her fingers through his golden blonde hair, those things would make her happy again. She could take the city's scornful looks if only she could be with Silas once more. He would give her strength, she was sure of it.

Alther Mella didn't have the same hope Sarah did. He missed both Silas and Marcia very much, but especially Marcia. In the time she had been his apprentice, he had become very close to her and now, he was almost certain she was dead. That was a heartbreaking concept for him to grasp. He couldn't go one day without thinking of Marcia and wondering whether or not she remained alive. He prayed for her all the time now. Marcia was so young, she didn't deserve to die. Aside from that, she had been the first person Alther had ever met who had even considered passing his position as ExtraOrdinary on to. Marcia had had that spark of **magykal **energy that he had spent so much time searching for and had never found. Had she gotten the proper training, she would have been the perfect one to succeed him.

Milo Banda was going through a very hard time as well. Not only had his brother, Thomas, just gotten married and not even bothered to inform him of it, let alone invite him, but he and Cerys had just conceived their first child, only to lose it almost immediately. Cerys was distraught. She had wanted a child so badly and Milo hated to see her hopes get dashed. He promised Cerys that they would try again soon, but he could tell Cerys was still upset. Milo pitied his wife. He knew the Castle expected her to produce an heir as soon as she possibly could, and she was trying, she really was. Milo was trying to offer her as much support as she needed. It was hard to be Queen.

Two weeks after Thomas Banda got married, Silas Heap and Peter O'Malley reached the end of their journey. They had at last located the land of the dead. It had been a very difficult time for both of them. They had just gone through a particularly nasty fight with a land wurm. Silas had almost been killed, but Peter had spared him. This kind of shocked Silas. He knew that Peter was only putting up with him because he didn't want to make such a perilous trip alone. However, Silas had managed to drive Peter up the wall in the past weeks and frankly, Silas was surprised Peter hadn't found some way to murder him already. Of course, he was very glad Peter had left him alive. Silas didn't fancy being a ghost much, but doubtlessly, the reader is already aware of this piece of information.

So when Peter and Silas reached the land of the dead, each man in one piece they couldn't really believe it. It looked exactly the way Peter's grandfather had described. A huge barren land that stretched for miles and miles. In the center of it was a pit of molten lava. Not for the first time since Silas had left Snake Slipway, he felt afraid.

"Are you sure this is it?" he whispered to Peter, who was standing beside him, trying to hide the fact that he was shaking.

"Silas, you idiot, of course this it! What else would this place be?" As if to prove Peter right, a loud scream was heard from somewhere in the valley. It was doubtlessly someone's spirit being tortured. Silas gulped.

"Come on," murmured Peter, "Let's go."

"Not so fast!" exclaimed a voice, causing both Silas and Peter to jump out of their skins. Silas recognized the voice. It was the same one that had spoken to Silas that day in the Wizard Tower, the day he had killed Tiffany. The voice continued, "Well, well, Silas Heap, who knew you had it in you. I never thought you'd make it here, you're so weak." Silas would have been offended, but he was too frightened. "But because you made it this far, I'm obligated to allow you to enter my land and spare one soul. But there is one condition, you must have something to offer the souls. Let me tell you they thrive on human blood. If one of the two of you could provide me with some, I could allow you to enter my kingdom."

"No problem." a woman's voice screeched. Clarissa ran up behind Silas, a knife in her fist which she automatically drew to his throat.

"Bitch." He choked. Clarissa tightened her grip on him.

"Let go of him!" cried Peter, who didn't really want to see Silas get murdered right in front of him. Now that he had been around Silas, he no longer thought he was worth killing. He was just a bumbling fool who had yet to find his place in life.

Peter leapt at Clarissa and ripped her away from Silas. Clarissa was caught off guard by Peter's strength and determination. Before she knew it, Peter had pushed her to the ground. 'Damnit!' she thought to herself, 'Why do things always have to be so complicated?' She knew she wasn't going to win against Peter, she was already too weak from having been beaten by DomDaniel. It had been a few weeks, but her bruises had been very bad this time and they weren't going away. So instead of fighting Peter, Clarissa did a quick **unseen **and disappeared right before Peter and Septimus's eyes.

Peter bunched the ground in exasperation. "Silas, she's gotten away again!" When Silas didn't answer him, Peter looked up to see what Silas was doing.

Silas was standing behind him, holding the knife Clarissa had dropped when she had fallen to the ground. Suddenly, Peter knew what Silas was going to do.

"I'm sorry, Pete," said Silas, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "but we need some blood and we're not going to be using mine. Besides, we can't very well share Marcia, can we?" Peter gasped, a look of betrayal lighting up his eyes. Silas didn't seem to notice. He already knew what he was going to do and there was no way he was going to look back now. Before Peter could react, Silas struck him with the knife three times, until he came crashing to the ground, his blood spilling across the land in front of Silas.

As if in response to this, the booming voice said, "All right Silas Heap, you are worthy of entering this land. Your sacrifice is good. But be quick, I don't like it when humans spend too much time here. Which soul are you interested in restoring?"

"Marcia Overstrand." Silas replied confidently, glad he would soon be able to return home. He didn't give poor Peter another thought. Silas was about to return to the Castle with Marcia, and everyone would see him as a hero. He couldn't be more content if he tried to be. Of course he still didn't want to marry Sarah, but he knew he was clever enough to get himself out of it. He'd find a way, he was sure of it. Silas felt that, for the first time in a while, things were looking up for him.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Sage owns it.

Author's Note: Yay, the glitch is gone! Thanks be to God! Hey, thanks to all who have read this. And I need to extend a congratulations to Izanami's Fury, who caught my hidden typo in the last chapter. Yes, that's right, I purposely put a typo in my story to see who was paying attention. I know, it's weird, but that sort of thing amuses me. Anyway, thanks to all who have read this, it means a lot. I'm not sure how much longer this story is going to be because it is only a prequel, it might have another couple of chapters. But I assure you, I'm not done with Heap, not yet. I still have one more trick up my sleeve, and that's my sequel to Guilty Pleasures. I've already outlined it and as it looks now, it's going to be five chapters longer than Guilty Pleasures was. After that, I think I am going to be well and truly "Heaped out" for the moment. That doesn't mean I won't write more Septimus someday, but it just means I'm going to take a break for a while. But like I said, you're not getting rid of me yet.

**I don't wanna be a stupid girl**- Pink

Chapter Fourteen

When Silas Heap returned to the Castle with Marcia Overstrand, no one could really believe it. Naturally, they were incredibly relieved. Everyone was regarding Silas as a hero and Silas was soaking up every minute of his time in the sun. The story he had told the people in the Castle was a far cry from the actual truth, but Silas was no stranger to lying. In fact, sometimes he lied better than he told the truth. He told the citizens of the Castle that Marcia had been kidnapped by a dangerous group of terrorists and that he had had to save her from them all by himself. Marcia agreed to go along with this story simply because it was more believable than the truth was.

Silas had also lied to Marcia. Once he had revived her, he had apologized for treating her so badly. He had tried to make his apology seem as genuine as possible, but he wasn't entirely sure Marcia bought it. But she was quite grateful to him, she made that abundantly clear. She couldn't believe he had travelled all that way just to rescue her. Silas loved getting Marcia's attention and respect, he had to admit, he did care more about her than he had ever cared about another girl. It was a bit unsettling. But hadn't taken Marcia long to ask where Peter was. Silas had hoped she wouldn't ask this, but he had known she would. That exasperated Silas a little. Why couldn't Marcia focus on him and only him for once? But Silas did answer Marcia's question. He answered it dishonestly, but he answered it. He told her that Peter had refused to join Silas on his journey to the land of the dead. Silas wanted to make Marcia believe that Peter had never cared about her anyway. Unfortunately, Silas was successful. Marcia believed his lies. She knew that, if Peter had really cared for her as deeply as she had cared for him, he would have joined Silas in trying to save her. Although she managed to hide it, Marcia could feel her heart breaking. She had let herself love Peter and by doing that, she had opened herself up to pain. Marcia hated herself for being so stupid. She was so tired of getting herself into painful situations that she just didn't have to be in. Between Milo, Silas, and now Peter, Marcia was beginning to think romance was a complete waste of time. She decided that, from now on, she was going to concentrate on her** magykal** studies and not much else. Men were overrated. However, Marcia did feel that she was in Silas's debt, at least a little. She still couldn't believe that he had gone all that way just to rescue her. That counted for something. Marcia still didn't think she could completely forgive him for the way he had treated her the night before her apprentice supper, but she didn't think she could hate him any more either. He obviously cared about her.

Alther couldn't have been more proud of Silas. He was deliriously happy to have Marcia back and he was so pleased that Silas had gone out of his way to help her. Alther felt that it proved to the whole city that he had been right all along. He had always claimed that Silas was a good man underneath his bad reputation and now all of the residents would see that Alther had been correct all the time. That made Alther very happy for the first time in months.

Sarah Willow was utterly thrilled. Her Silas had returned home! She never should have doubted him! He was alive! He was coming back to marry her. So happy was Sarah that she didn't even stop to think about why Silas had left her in the first place. He had gone to save another woman, a woman he had been willing to risk his life for. But all Sarah could focus on was the fact that Silas would be there to help her welcome their first child into the world. Even more importantly, she would at last be able to call Silas Heap her husband. She felt as though she was floating she was so excited. Now, finally, her life could be wonderful.

Silas wasn't looking forward to marrying Sarah, but he knew he didn't have a choice. He was well aware that the whole city would most likely turn against him if he abandoned her. Even though the citizens had a terrible opinion of Sarah, Silas knew they would have an equally bad opinion of him if he didn't to his duty and become her husband. Silas comforted himself by remembering that his marriage to Sarah would not mean the end of his affairs with various women. He would just have to be sneakier about them. He would have to keep all of his affairs secret from now on.

Two days before Silas was going to get married, Queen Cerys called him to the Palace. She, like the rest of the Castle, was impressed with Silas's "courage" and she was going to honor him with a ceremony. All of the Castle was invited. Silas couldn't have been more excited if he tried. Finally, he had made a name for himself. Everyone in the city thought he was a hero. Silas was famous and he was loving every second of it. His dreams were coming true.

Silas's ceremony was _eventful_ for various reasons. All went according to plan until everyone was getting refreshments from the back of the room. While one woman was using a ladle to scoop some punch into her glass, a human head floated to the top of the punch bowl. The woman shrieked and fainted. When Silas rushed over to see what she had just seen, he was shocked and revolted by the sight before him. But he had a bit of a stronger stomach than the young woman had had, and he managed to notice that there was a tiny message written in blood on the unknown skull's forehead. It read:_ Silas, enjoy your time in the spotlight. It will be brief, I assure you. Once I've killed you, just as I killed Queen Elena, you will be forgotten. Within three months, not one citizen in this city will remember your name._

Before anyone else could read these words, Silas fished the head out of the punch bowl and flung it into a nearby wastebasket. By this time, many of the guests at the ceremony were screaming and running about. Marcia, who had seen this atrocious scene from a few feet away, turned her back on the frantic guests and vomited. She could tell Silas had seen something strange about the skull, something no one else had noticed and she was dying to know what it was. But she knew that, if she asked Silas about it, he would probably deny that he had seen anything unusual at all. If he did deny it, Marcia would know he was lying. His behavior had been too suspicious.

At Sarah and Silas's wedding two days later, most everyone in the Castle was trying to forget the horrific events of the ceremony, but not very successfully. Silas couldn't help but notice how tense everyone seemed at wedding. Silas was furious. He knew exactly who had placed the skull in the punch bowl, and now, his wedding was turning out to be a complete disaster because of it. Also much of the Castle was making fun of his bride, Sarah, because she was so pregnant that she resembled a small whale. Sarah barely noticed or cared, but Silas was embarrassed by Sarah's figure. He had always imagined himself marrying a thin, pretty woman on his wedding day. Silas's life never seemed to turn out like he wanted it.

At his wedding reception, Sarah only managed one dance with Silas before all of her energy was gone. Silas decided to search for Marcia. He told Sarah he was going to the bathroom and instead, found Marcia.

She was standing in the very back of the room, looking rather dejected. Silas reached out and touched her shoulder, which caught her off guard. She jumped and, when she realized who had come to visit her, she deliberately looked at the ground. She didn't want to Silas to see her face. It was obvious she had been crying and she was ashamed of her emotions. Silas smiled a little to himself. Was she crying because he had married another woman? He rather hoped so. "Hello Marcia." He said softly, loving the way her name rolled off of his tongue.

"Oh Silas, congrats." Marcia responded, her voice cold and flat. Marcia didn't understand how Silas could travel all the way to the land of the dead just to rescue her, only to return home and marry a pregnant slut. Marcia was hurt. She was beginning to think that Silas's saving her had only been a publicity stunt. Aside from that, just being at a wedding really bothered her. It made her think about Peter and all the things she would never do with him.

"That's all you're going to say 'congrats?' Marcia, look, I get it. I'm so sorry. I made a mistake. If I had known that I still had even the slightest chance with you, I wouldn't have started that affair with Sarah. It's something I'm going to regret for the rest of my life now. I love you." The words rolled out of Silas's mouth before he even thought about them. Suddenly he stopped. In all the years Silas had spent chasing women, he had never once said those three words. Now, he had just said them without even thinking about it. Did that mean he really mean them? The possibility of truly being in love and not even knowing it frightened Silas a little.

Marcia scoffed at Silas's words. "Love? You don't know what love is! Silas, can't you leave me alone for once? You're married! Go bother your wife."

"I'd rather bother you." Silas retorted. "Besides, I just have something to ask. I assure you that I'll never touch you again if you do one thing for me. Marcia, I want you to kiss me, just once more. We can go to the restrooms. No one will see us there. I just want to feel you lips on mine, just once more before I die. Please Marcia, I save your life, it's the least you could do. I'll do anything."

Marcia was about to say "absolutely not!" when she thought about what Silas had just said, "You said you'd do anything? Would you by any chance, consider telling me what you saw written on that human skull two days ago." Marcia saw Silas become pale. He obviously didn't want to say anything about it.

"Marcia, I can't. I doesn't really matter. It wasn't a big deal."

"Okay, well if you won't tell me, I won't kiss you. It's just that simple." Marcia smirked. She knew she had Silas now. There was no way he would turn down a good smooch fest.

"All right, all right Marcia! I'll tell you, but first you have to kiss me."

"Done. But let's go to the restroom and get this over with. Flip a coin. That will decide whether we go in the ladies room or the men's."

Silas's coin landed on heads.

"The ladies room it is." Marcia sighed with relief. "Now, let's go, before I change my mind."

Silas did as he was told. He and Marcia managed to sneak off into the ladies room and for a few moments, Silas was in completely ecstasy. He had forgotten how wonderful kissing Marcia was. Neither Silas nor Marcia noticed when another person entered the room. It was Sally Mullin.

When Sally saw Silas with Marcia, she gasped in horror. "S..Silas Heap!" she screeched, "Oh you bastard! You cocky son of a bitch! How dare you? Don't think Sarah won't know about this. I'll go and tell her right now. I bet she'd love to know what her husband is doing with this slut of a girl. You're going to have a difficult night, Silas." With that, Sally stormed out of the room, leaving Silas and Marcia behind. Silas moaned. It was going to be a horrible night.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own it!

Author's Note: Thanks to all that reviewed my last chapter. Cruella is being a drill sergeant again. I have so much work so I am sorry if I am writing boring things. I'm trying, I really am. My friends and I are devising a plan to cause Cruella some real pain. We'll never go through with it, of course, but it's fun to think about. The only good thing about her is that you can hear her coming from anywhere. Her high heels are unbelievably loud and she wears them every day. I hate the way they look, but I should probably thank them, seeing as they warn me whenever she's around… Anyway, on with chapter fifteen. This is another one for Artemsia Thripp simply because she detests Marcia Overstrand. It is also for Izanami's Fury simply because she detests Silas Heap. Oh and Izanami, you write wicked awesome stories. I looked you up on fiction press. You've got loads of potential. You guys will see why your dislike of these characters matters after this chapter, I promise. This story is going to be eighteen chapters long I think, if everything goes well with the original plan. Thanks to all who have read it so far.

Chapter Fifteen

It didn't even take Sally Mullin three days to spread Silas and Marcia's "secret" all over the Castle. The citizens, who had always scorned Sarah, were now offering her their sympathies. Sarah didn't really care. She was heartbroken. She still didn't understand why Silas had done this to her. Maybe he had never loved her to begin with. The idea was too much for her to bear. Aside from that, Sarah was getting ready to have her baby so she already had enough on her plate as it was. She couldn't believe her luck, it was simply atrocious.

Even though Sarah desperately wished that Silas had remained faithful to her, the rest of the city was glad he had not. Most of the residents loved a good drama and this love triangle between Silas Heap, his pregnant wife, and the ExtraOrdinary apprentice was just the sort of thing they had been looking for. The people of the Castle were mostly trying to make Sarah look good and throwing all the dirt they could on Marcia. Before long, the whole Castle thought Marcia was a whore. Sally even started rumors that Marcia was sleeping with Alther, though only the most gullible people believed that. All the same, it didn't take Sally any time at all to completely destroy Marcia's reputation.

Marcia tried to hide it, but the loss of her good reputation really bothered her. She was sick of not being able to walk through the street without women mocking her and men trying shamelessly to grab her and touch parts of her body, just like they did to common sluts. Being around these types of men just made Marcia miss Peter more and more. She could still feel a numb part of her soul that had not felt normal since the day Silas had told her the truth: that Peter had not even loved her enough to come and rescue her from the land of the dead. Marcia knew that could only mean one thing. Peter had obviously viewed her the way all of the other men in the Castle now viewed her. He must have seen her as a plaything, a toy, a good way to waste time. But not someone to love. Marcia was cross with herself. She should have known better than to think Peter would love her. Marcia didn't think anyone really loved her, except maybe Alther. But more than she desired love, Marcia desired respect. Respect was the last thing anyone in the Castle was giving her now. Alther was constantly telling her to ignore the citizens attitudes and that she shouldn't be so hard on herself, but Marcia couldn't help it. She wanted others to like her, to envy her. That was why Marcia wanted to be ExtraOrdinary Wizard, she wanted to be in charge. She loved imagining what the Castle residents would do if they suddenly had to take her orders and listen to her commands. She knew they wouldn't want to do it, but if she were ExtraOrdinary, they wouldn't have a choice.

Cerys was hurt because she could see what madness Sarah, Marcia, and Silas were causing in her city. More than anything, Cerys wanted the Castle to be a peaceful, successful place and she knew it couldn't be if the citizens were trying to make each other unhappy all of the time. She mostly blamed Silas Heap for all of the craziness. She had come to see as worthless scumbag who was just attempting to make everyone else's lives difficult. Cerys was quite right about this.

It would have brought Cerys pleasure to know that Silas was not at all pleased with his life at the moment. He was married, but he was still living alone. Sarah had returned to Galen's for a few Sarah had returned to Galen's for a few days. She had no intention of divorcing Silas, however, she did need some time to clear her head. Silas was also very nervous about the birth of his first child. It hadn't really hit him until just then that he was going to have to become a parent. Silas could imagine himself being a lot of things, but being a father was not at the top of the list. He knew that DomDaniel had wanted him to produce seven sons, but Silas was no longer sure what kind of terms he was on with DomDaniel. He hadn't spoken to him in a very long time. But Silas knew that his time was running short. Sarah became closer and closer to the end of her pregnancy with each passing day.

Silas truly had very little time left. Two weeks after his marriage to Sarah, Silas was out in a tavern, wasted and smoking some really odd drugs that made him feel wonderful for the first time in weeks. His head was in the clouds. He was flying. He was free. Silas couldn't even remember the last time he had felt so content. The drugs gave him courage and he was yelling anything and everything that popped into his head. So, naturally, Silas was shocked and infuriated when Sally Mullin burst into the tavern and screamed, "Silas Heap! There you are, you good for nothing bastard! I just knew I'd find you here. Your wife is having your first child tonight. I should think even a stupid, vain son of a bitch like you would want to be with his wife during a time like this. But we don't have much time. Hurry, follow me." Sally motioned for Silas to follow her.

"Make me!" shouted Silas, slurring his words together like the fool he was.

"Excuse me?" snapped Sally. She hadn't been able to make out what Silas had said, but it sounded like a challenge.

"Make me come with you. Do you really think I give a damn about my idiot wife?" Silas's exposure to drugs and alcohol was causing him to speak his mind. "Do you really think I want a baby? Look, Sally, you dried up old bitch, I'll want a baby the day hell freezes over. In the meantime, I am just perfectly happy with the way I'm living now."

Sally was mortified. "That's it, Silas! That's the final straw! I'm going to talk to Sarah about this and she will divorce you! You're marriage will fail, Silas." Failed marriages were regarded as one of the most horrible things that could happen to a person in the Castle. But Silas was not the sort of man who was bothered by failed marriages, unlike a certain, kinder man who was doomed to endure one years later when his wife left him and his family for her own selfish reasons.

"Why should I care if my marriage fails?" cried Silas, "It's not as if I'm in love with Sarah." Sally gasped, but Silas went on, "Surely, she knows that, unless she's incredibly stupid. Sally, I barely know Sarah. When I was journeying to the land of the dead, I could scarcely recall what her face looked like. She was just a fling Sally, people have them. I'm certain you've had a few in your time."

Sally blushed scarlet with rage. Then, without saying a word, she approached him and kicked him in a very special part of his body. Silas screamed and when Sally kicked him three more times, Silas began to cry. The drugs had not only taken his mind, they had taken his dignity. He was wailing on the ground like a spoiled, wretched child. It took all of Sally's strength to haul him from his chair to his feet and Sally was a strong woman. Once he was standing though, Silas didn't struggle at all, much to her amazement and relief. He just followed her like an obedient child. Because of Sally Mullin, Silas Heap was present when Simon Heap burst into the word, covered in slime and blood. Sarah was utterly thrilled to have Silas with her. All at once she forgave him for everything, just seeing him there, watching her bring their child into the world, had brought joy to her heart. Silas's looked amazed by his tiny son and that made Sarah proud, very proud indeed.

Surprisingly, Silas was amazed by Simon. From the moment he was born, Silas felt something inside himself snap. It was a change in his soul that he couldn't deny, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was either. Silas didn't know it, but from the moment he first saw Simon, he loved him. Even Silas couldn't escape fatherly love once he experienced it. It didn't take Silas long to recognize that he wanted to be with Simon all the time. He wanted to watch him go through every stage of his life. He was willing to make a life with Sarah if it meant he could do that. One week after Simon was born, Silas and Sarah rented a room in the Ramblings and moved in. Sarah was ecstatic. At last, her life was going the way she wanted it to go. Silas still snuck out to drink sometimes, but he made sure Sarah didn't know. No sense in ruining the stable home life he was establishing.

Marcia was actually hurt when she learned of Silas's attachment to Simon. Much of the Castle was now speaking highly of Silas again. They went on and on about how devoted he was, how compassionate, and how wrong they had been about him before. Marcia was disgusted. She hated that Silas had managed to recreate his identity for the umpteenth time while she was still one of the most disliked people in the city. It drove her crazy. Much like Silas didn't realize that he loved Simon at first, Marcia didn't realize that she had loved having Silas's attention. She had craved it because he was the only boy her age who had ever seemed remotely interested in her. Marcia had gotten used to Silas's dry, sarcastic sense of humor and the way he looked at her as though she were some kind of a supermodel. Silas thought she was beautiful and deep down, Marcia loved that. Being with Silas had made Marcia feel better about who she was, even if she hadn't recognized it while she was with him. But then again, Marcia had a tendency not to appreciate things until they were really gone. That was a misfortune that was going to follow her for the rest of her life. Marcia decided that she was going to test Silas's attention and she knew exactly how she was going to do it. She had it all planned out in her mind and, if everything went according to that plan, Silas would forget all about Sarah and the baby at least for a little while. But Marcia didn't realize how stupid she was being or that her plan was going to put not only herself, but several others in grave danger. In the end, Marcia's attempt to win Silas's attention wouldn't change anything, no matter how badly she wanted it to. He had already moved on past her into another chapter of his life in which she was not at all important. But as Marcia had no way of knowing this, she continued to scheme away waiting for her chance to make her plan into a reality.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own Septimus Heap

Author's Note: Thanks to all who read Chapter Fifteen. It means a lot. I want to dedicate this chapter to Iluvcatz, who noticed a very important detail in my last chapter. I mentioned a "kind man whose marriage fails" or something like that. That has to do with an event that occurs in my sequel to Guilty Pleasures, so you're not really supposed to understand it yet. But all the same, it was really observant of her to notice it. This chapter is very short, but I have a ton of projects due this week so bear with me. Okay guys, I don't really have that much more to say, so let's see what Sil**arse **and M**arse**ia are up to, shall we?

Chapter Sixteen

Silas couldn't believe Simon was already six months old. Simon had brought Silas closer to Sarah over the last few months and he was actually becoming rather fond of her. He liked it that Sarah never said no to him, never tried to argue that her way was better. When he had been with Marcia, he had always felt as though she were the one in charge of him. It was Silas's belief that a man should always be in charge, no exceptions. Sarah provided him with the kind of respect and adoration he deserved and he appreciated that. But Silas's fondness for his wife was nothing compared to his love for Simon.

Simon was growing all the time. Silas had taken walks through the Castle and showed his tiny son to all who knew him. Many people thought this was charming, others thought it was obnoxious. Marcia Overstrand was in this number. When Silas brought Simon to meet Alther, Marcia had been very cold, almost rude to Silas. Alther was embarrassed by Marcia's behavior and gave her a very stern talk after Silas left. That was the final straw for Marcia. She was tired of Silas Heap causing her trouble in her life. That evening, she snuck out of the Wizard Tower rooms. She was finally ready to launch her plan.

Meanwhile, Clarissa Demarte had just given birth to her first child. She vowed to raise him to be a leader, just like his father, DomDaniel. Clarissa called her son Clifford because it had been her brother's middle name. Clarissa still felt that Silas was responsible for much of her misery. She wanted to make him suffer more than she wanted anything else. But Clarissa was a clever woman and she knew that the one way to really cause a person pain was to harm those that they loved. Because Clarissa had not seen Silas in a while, she still believed he loved Marcia Overstrand. Lucky for Clarissa, Marcia was going to be exceptionally easy to catch. The night Marcia left the Wizard Tower, Clarissa was waiting outside the Castle. Not far away, she could smell wolverines roasting. The witches were cooking, she had no doubt. They were always cooking. Clarissa was trying to find a way to get over the Castle wall, when she **sensed** a presence near her. It was a young presence, a young woman's heartbeat. Clarissa smiled slyly. She had a feeling she knew who would be foolish enough to venture into the woods at night.

She was not mistaken. No more than five minutes later, Marcia was in plain sight. Clarissa shivered with glee. This really couldn't be easier. That idiotic, haughty girl had walked right into her trap. Now, she would be able to use the little bitch to bait Silas. It was all too good to be true. Clarissa decided that there was no time like the present to reveal herself. Marcia was alone and defenseless and Clarissa had hidden Clifford away in an abandoned old house where she was staying. She had only been gone thirty minutes and he was most likely still all right. Besides, Clarissa was dying to give someone pain again and who better than little miss apprentice?

Unfortunately for Clarissa, Marcia had **sensed **her presence as well. However, Marcia was rather glad to know there was someone who wished her harm in the area. Marcia had guessed there would be. That was a key part of her plan. Marcia wanted to seek out Clarissa Demarte and finish her off. If she could manage that, surely Silas would be impressed with her skills and power and would desire her all over again. At least, that's what Marcia was hoping would occur.

Clarissa approached her from behind, but Marcia was ready. The turned around and hit Clarissa with a stunning curse. Clarissa was shocked. Obviously, this little slut had improved, but Clarissa still knew Marcia wouldn't stand a chance against her. "You want a fight then?" he hissed, pulling herself off the ground. "I'll give you a fight, you disgusting whore. You'll wish you were never born by the time the sun rises."

Marcia was nervous, but also excited. She had already gotten the first shot on Clarissa so maybe, just maybe, she could win this. She was about to respond to Clarissa's crude insults when she felt a sharp, burning sensation in her ribs. Without thinking of her dignity, Marcia cried out. The pain was becoming more and more unbearable with every breath. She knew what Clarissa had done to her. This was a torturing spell. Marcia also knew that eventually, if Clarissa chose not to remove the spell, Marcia would die.

Clarissa was laughing like a maniac. "You thought this would be easy, did you? You thought you would win just because you're the _ExtraOrdinary Apprentice? _You think Alther Mella could teach you half of what I know? I could kill your Alther with my eyes closed! Oh you foolish girl."

Marcia was feeling pretty foolish. She realized that she was probably going to die and this time, Silas wouldn't be there to save her. She had never felt so stupid in her life. Why had she been so desperate to win Silas? Right now, in these stressful moments, she could scarcely recall why it had mattered. She had forgotten.

All the way across the Forest, Silas was taking an evening stroll when he **sensed **a dangerous situation nearby. Surprisingly, it wasn't Marcia and Clarissa's fight. It was a group of wolverines gathered around a young witch, licking their chops hungrily. It took Silas a moment to realize that the young woman had accidently **frozen **herself in an effort to **freeze **the wolverines. Thinking fast, Silas remembered the quick **freeze **spell Alther had taught him and Silas **froze** the wolverines with little trouble. Then, he ran over, picked up the young witch and ran her to safety. She was too attractive to die, Silas thought.

Silas spent the rest of the evening talking with the young witch or rather, talking to her, seeing as she couldn't really speak while she was **defrosting.** Silas found himself talking about Sarah and the baby nearly the entire night and the young girl listened attentively. When at last she was able to speak, she told him her name: Morwenna Mould. It was a name that would assist him in future troubles.

Needless to say, Marcia had had an _interesting _evening as well. She had spent most of it being tortured by Clarissa. She had screamed until she couldn't scream anymore. Still for nearly two hours, no one had heard her. For a while, Marcia had actually managed to fight Clarissa but in the end, Clarissa had triumphed over her. Marcia still wasn't experienced enough. Just as Clarissa was about to deliver a curse that would surely kill her, Marcia gathered all of her will to live and at last, she managed to **cause** something to happen to Clarissa. When Clarissa aimed a final killing curse at her, Marcia rebounded it. Clarissa ducked, but it still hit her. But it didn't hit her full on, therefore, it only injured her badly. Clarissa was passed out on the ground. Marcia knew this was her time to escape, but to her annoyance, she didn't have any energy left to do so. Instead, she ended up next to Clarissa on the ground, passed out from exhaustion.

What seemed like only minutes but was in fact, three hours later, Marcia felt someone shaking her awake. She also felt completely healthy again, as though the whole Clarissa thing had never happened. Marcia sat up quickly, trying to focus on the person who was shaking her. Once she did, she immediately wished she hadn't. There, standing in front of her, was the oldest man she had ever seen. He was like one of those horrific figures that occasionally passed across her dreams. Marcia had lost the power of speech.

The poor old man was none other than Marcellus Pye, although Marcia had no way of knowing that. Marcellus had heard screaming from his house on Snake Slipway and he had journeyed out to see what the matter was. When he had found Marcia, lying there helpless, he was awestruck. He had never seen anything quite like her. Being an alchemist and physician, Marcellus had the power to save Marcia and he wasn't about to allow such a beautiful creature to die. It hadn't taken Marcellus long to realize that this must have been the girl Silas had desired so greatly. She was wearing the tunic of an ExtraOrdinary Apprentice. Doubtlessly, this was Marcia Overstrand. Marcellus had been so taken with Marcia that he hadn't even noticed Clarissa lying passed out against a bust. Marcellus had taken Marcia to his house to heal her and that was exactly what he had done.

"You don't have to be afraid of me." he began in the oddest accent Marcia had ever heard, "I won't harm you."

Something in the man's voice made Marcia less nervous. "Where am I?" she asked.

"My house." The man replied, "but you don't need to be. You ought to be returning to the Wizard Tower. I have no doubt Alther is wondering where you are."

"B..But how did I get-" Marcia stopped. It all made sense. This repulsive old man must have saved her life! What else could have happened? Of course, Marcia didn't approve of Physik, but in this case, she was all right with it. She was just happy to be alive.

Even though she recognized him as a physician, Marcia never learned he was Marcellus Pye. Before she returned to the Tower, she ended having a long conversation with Marcellus. In this case, Marcia did most of the talking. Marcellus just listened, fascinated by the mannerisms of this lovely child. When at last Marcia was ready to return to the Wizard Tower, Marcellus made her promise him one thing. He asked her to swear that she would never venture into the wilderness at night alone again. Marcellus didn't want to think of what would have happened to her if he hadn't found her. Marcia agreed to his promise. Then, she did a rather queer thing. As she was walking out the door, Marcia turned and kissed Marcellus on his cheek. "Thank you." She whispered, "For everything." After that, she was gone, leaving Marcellus in something of a trance.

As Marcia returned to the Wizard Tower, it dawned on her that she had forgotten to ask for the old man's name. This frustrated her, but only a little. She was eager to return to Alther and put his worries to rest. Marcia had learned her lesson. Silas wasn't worth ever risking her life for again.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I love this stuff….But it's not mine

Author's Note: I just want to thank you all for your unbelievably nice comments. I don't deserve them, I really don't. This chapter is going to be somewhat short but it's my second to last and if, you remember correctly, I made Chapter Twenty-Four of GP rather short as well. Besides, you're getting Chapter eighteen in the next few hours as well. Anyway, I am incredibly thankful to all who have reviewed so far. I love you guys.

Chapter Seventeen

The next few years flew by for Silas and Sarah. They loved being parents so much that they had a child nearly every year. After Simon came Sam, after Sam came the twins, Erik and Edd, and Jojo and Nicko followed them. When Sarah announced she was pregnant for a seventh time, Silas couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. He secretly hoped the child would be a girl so that there would be no chance of DomDaniel returning to his life. Silas had not seen DomDaniel or Clarissa in seven and a half years and he had seen very little of Marcia Overstrand during that time. Some nights, Silas still missed her, though he wouldn't admit it to Sarah. Silas wasn't wise, but he was smart enough to know that getting involved with Marcia was likely cause a multitude of problems. Silas was still content with his life overall and he didn't want to taint with his luck.

Silas Heap was the last thing on Marcia's mind. Marcia had just graduated from her apprenticeship to Alther Mella and she was rather proud of herself. In fact, most of the citizens were getting fed up with Marcia's bossy, know it all temperament. Most of them were hoping that Alther did not make her his successor. However, the chances of him getting another apprentice were looking slim. Alther was aging and it would be only a matter of time before he either retired or died. Everyone feared that before long, the whole Castle would be taking orders from Marcia Overstrand. At least they still had their beloved Queen, they could be happy for that much.

Queen Cerys was too giddy to care about who was going to be the next ExtraOrdinary Wizard. She had just discovered that she was pregnant. Cerys and Milo had been trying for a baby for many years and for a while, Cerys had been afraid that she might not be able to bear children, but now, those fears were assuaged. Milo was also deliriously happy. His brother, Thomas, had had a daughter a few years back and for the first time in a while, Milo had been envious of his brother. He had always loved children and Thomas wasn't even going to allow him meet his new niece. At least now, he and Cerys were going to have their own child, but still Milo wanted to be part of his niece's life. He knew almost nothing about her except her name, which he had learned was Misty. He had a bad feeling that with a father like Thomas, Misty would grow to be cold and heartless. Milo was not mistaken in thinking this.

The news of Cerys's pregnancy soon spread through the Palace. All of the residents prayed for a baby girl so that the Castle would have an heir. Milo decided that he wanted to offer Cerys and his child a gift when the baby was born. Because Milo was a successful merchant he knew just the place to go to get some incredible treasures. But it would take him around six months to make the journey. So when he asked Cerys for permission to make the journey, she was a bit hesitant in giving him her blessing. She didn't want to spend her pregnancy alone. But when she saw how badly Milo wanted to go, Cerys relented. He was doing it for her, after all.

In the badlands, DomDaniel was in his element. He was aware that Sarah Heap was pregnant with her seventh child and that, if it was a son, this would be the time for him to stage his takeover. His closest follower was going to lead an army of Custodians into the Castle and assassinate not only that obnoxious ex apprentice of his, Alther Mella, but also the Queen of the Castle. Thinking about finishing off these two people gave DomDaniel a certain thrill that he couldn't explain. Nothing excited DomDaniel more than knowing his enemies were deceased. DomDaniel knew all he had to do was wait. His time to would come.

Clarissa Demarte too was waiting. She had not seen her son, Clifford, in over seven years and she was sure someone in the Castle had taken him, though she couldn't imagine who it was. The night she had dueled Marcia, she had returned to the abandoned home she was staying in and found that he was gone. She had wanted to teach Clifford all about **darke magyk. **She knew he had had the potential to be extremely powerful, but now, he would probably never know that. Frankly, Clarissa didn't know if her son was still alive. The only thing she did know was that he had been abducted and whoever had abducted him knew his name. Clarissa had **made **a small outfit for him that have his name engraved in the collar. Something inside Clarissa told her that her son wasn't dead, and she was determined to find him. Clarissa had spent the past few years in the farmlands, drinking away what little money she had. She was working part time in a supermarket in one the small farming villages, but that wasn't enough to pay the bills. So at night, after she had drunk away all of her troubles, she would make the rest of her money in bed. She invited men to her apartment and they paid her to sleep with them. Clarissa was disgusted with herself. She had never imagined that she would have to turn to the oldest profession to survive, yet here, she was, utterly degraded and ashamed. She often wondered if DomDaniel ever thought of her and if he did, what did he think of her. She knew she still missed him, still loved him even though she tried very hard not to. She knew she was going to have a hard time forgetting him, even though he had probably already forgotten her. It felt wretched to be forgotten and at this point, Clarissa felt as though the whole world had forgotten about her.

Clarissa had no way of knowing that a kindly old woman had taken in Clifford and was raising him as her own son. Sadly for Clarissa, she would never again lay her eyes upon her child. He would die before she ever had a chance to find him again.

A few weeks before Sarah was due to give birth, Silas decided that he wanted to revisit one of his old favorite places in town: the tavern. Sarah was acting pretty moody as most women who were nine months pregnant did and Silas was sick of her attitudes. That evening, Silas found pleasure in the arms of a young foxy woman named Anna, whom he didn't know at all. It felt good to be with a woman again. Sarah had been unable to go to bed with him for the past few months and Silas was getting bored. Of course, before Sarah and the boys awoke the next day, Silas had returned home and no one even remotely suspected that he had been out of the house. Sometimes, Silas loved his wife for being gullible. It made it much easier to get away with things.

Approximately a week later, Marcia was rushing to see Alther. She had just passed some really difficult exams that weren't connected to her apprenticeship, which she had already passed, but they were very important tests. They basically determined whether or not she was ready to be the next ExtraOrdinary Wizard and to her relief and amazement, she had done very well. When she reached Alther's rooms, she was breathless. "Alther!" she exclaimed, "Oh Alther, you'll never believe it. I passed the exams." Marcia wasn't usually easily excited, but today, she couldn't help it. "Thank you so much, I couldn't have done it without you."

"Marcia congratulations! But I am not at all surprised. I knew you'd do it. You're a talented girl, you should give yourself more credit."

Just as Marcia was about to respond to Alther's kind compliment, a messenger burst into the room. "Queen Cerys's baby has arrived!" he cried, "You must come to bless the child ExtraOrdinary. It is the heir."

Alther and Marcia exchanged glances, both were thrilled by the news. "Of course." replied Alther. "Marcia, come with me. I might need your help, especially since your such an accomplished wizard now."

Marcia blushed and nodded, "Let's go then. We mustn't keep the Queen waiting."

"No," agreed Alther, "Not on a day like this." As Marcia and Alther followed the messenger out of the Wizard Tower and toward the Palace, a baby boy was born in the ramblings. He was the seventh son of Silas Heap and his name was Septimus Heap.

**AN: Ok, you guys know what's coming next, don't you? I'm going to try and post the next chapter in the next two hours or so. This chapter just sets up chapter eighteen. It will be exciting, I promise. However, I can't make it happy and I think you all know why. Anyway, thanks for reading. Stay tuned.**


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: Sage owns this wacky series not me. However, I think it would be even wackier if I did own it.

Author's Note: This is it people, the end of my Silarse fic. So it wasn't my best work, but I wrote it to make all of you laugh a little. I hope I succeeded. I am altering part of Sage's plot in this chapter just to shake things up. I hope that's okay. All right, I am dedicating this to Iluvcatz, Izanami's Fury, Artemsia Thrip, and my dear friends Karen and Marcy who are my moral support. At some point in the next day or so, I am publishing a Septimus Heap oneshot that reflects on GP and sets up its sequel, which I will begin as soon as I can. I had a lot of fun writing this Silarse stuff. It gave me time to think of a decent sequel as well as put my dislike of Silas in writing. I loved writing this. Thanks for taking your time to read it. I will read anything you guys write.

Chapter Eighteen

When Marcia entered the Throne Room, she took in one of the happiest sights she had ever seen. Cerys was clutching a beautiful baby girl to her chest, doubtlessly the newborn princess. Even Marcia, who hated children, was quite taken with the baby girl. She was adorable, especially for a newborn. When the Queen saw Alther and Marcia, she beamed and asked, "Isn't she beautiful?" Marcia was about to agree with the Queen when suddenly another messenger burst into the room. Marcia looked at Cerys expression and recognized that Cerys had not expected this visitor. Then, before anyone could react, the messenger pulled a silver pistol out of his pocket and fired it at the Queen. The bullet land right in the middle of Cery's chest and her infant daughter tumbled from her arms. Without thinking, Marcia rushed forward and caught the tiny baby in her arms. Alther muttered a **safe shield** spell and he, Marcia, and the Princess were safe. When the "messenger", who was most definitely an assassin, fired a second shot, it bounced off the invisible shield and hit him in the chest. He was dead.

Marcia could hardly believe what she had seen. "A..Alther…" she stuttered, "Oh Alther, this is awful, just awful. Poor Cerys. Who set this up? What has happened?"

Alther replied calmly, trying to make himself sound confident. "Marcia, my dear, I know no more than you do. But we're going to find out and we'll stop them. Don't be afraid."

Marcia couldn't help but be afraid. She tried to hide her hands, which were shaking. Alther pretended not to notice. After a moment standing there in the Throne Room, Alther decided that the sensible thing to do would to return to the Wizard Tower and figure out what to do from there. But on their way out of the Palace, they ran into someone Marcia hadn't seen in over seven years.

"Clarissa!" she hissed, "Alther it's-" But before Marcia could get the words out, Alther crashed to the floor. Clarissa had once again used her **magyk **to get one step ahead of Marcia Overstrand.

"Where's my son?" shrieked Clarissa, "I want my son! You've done something with him! Tell me, where's my child, you little harlot? If you give my child to me, I might just spare your sorry life."

Marcia couldn't have been more confused. Clarissa had a son? And she had just wounded and possibly killed Alther? Marcia wanted to go touch Alther's pulse to answer her last question, but she feared the worst. Alther was completely motionless and still. Marcia was infuriated. How dare Clarissa take Alther from her? And now she was probably going to try kill her too. But this time, Marcia was ready. Her skills had increased dramatically in the past few years and she now felt ready to take on Clarissa's wrath.

"I haven't got your son, you pathetic bitch!" Marcia exclaimed.(Author's Note: ladies, ladies, watch your language!) "but I do know why you are here. You are nothing but a slimy, horrid follower of that ghastly old necromancer DomDaniel and you were sent here to do his bidding. You're pitiful, Clarissa. You can't do anything DomDaniel doesn't want you to do. If DomDaniel asked you to jump off of a cliff, you'd jump off the highest one to impress him. You're a lowlife and I doubt you will be missed to terribly once I finish you. Why, I bet even, your beloved master doesn't really care about you." Marcia's tone of voice was becoming mad and a touch of craziness to it, but she carried on, fired by her anger. She had no idea that DomDaniel had thrown Clarissa out of his group of followers years before. At the sound of Marcia's yelling, the baby Princess awoke and burst into tears. At the sound of the child's cries, Clarissa raised her finger to curse her. Marcia was ready. She sent a **thunderflash **hurtling at Clarissa, who ducked but it still caught her in the leg. She screamed in pain and Marcia took that time to torture Clarissa a little longer. "I know what you've done." She said, in a superior voice. "You killed out last Queen, Elena, and you didn't think anyone knew. Well, I always knew. Now, you've killed my mentor!" Marcia's voice cracked a little as she said these words, but she carried on. "I think I have every right to kill you here. I always thought I'd regret killing someone, but I wouldn't regret killing you. If you're gone, I'll be saving other lives you might have ended."

As Marcia raised her arm to cast a killing curse on the wounded Clarissa, Clarissa did the exact thing Marcia herself was going to do to save her own life years later. Clarissa used the last of her energy to **cause **herself to be** unseen.** Marcia cried out in frustration, but it was no good. Clarissa was gone. But even though Marcia couldn't see her, she could still here her and the words she heard were spine tingling. "Miss Overstrand, you talk too much. If you hadn't been so busy telling me that you were going to finish me a few moments ago, you might have actually succeeded. But I seem to have gotten the better of you again. I assure you, Marcia, I will be back and next time, it will be you who does not survive. But look at it this way, you'll get to join Alther, Elena, and Cerys." Her tone was dripping with sarcasm, "Farewell Marcia Overstrand." The she was gone, leaving Marcia alone with the baby Princess.

Marcia ventured over to Alther and touched his wrist. As she had suspected, there was no pulse. Marcia could hear the baby Princess weeping and after a moment, she was too. But Marcia knew what Alther would want her to do. So gently, she kissed his forehead and removed the amulet from his neck, placing it around her own. Normally, she would have been thrilled to become the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. But this was not how she had wanted to receive the position. She had always imagined Alther retiring, not dying. It was too much for her to bear. She didn't know if she would be able to stand not seeing Alther all the time. To top it all off, Marcia was now responsible for the baby Princess. Obviously, she was a baby, she needed a real mother. Marcia knew she couldn't be a good mother for the child. She didn't understand babies. Luckily, the solution to this problem came to Marcia pretty quickly. For the first time in a long while, she thought of Silas Heap. She had a feeling he and Sarah might know just how to make the Princess happy. But Marcia knew she was going to have to be sneaky about it. So late that afternoon, Marcia smuggled the tiny baby out of the Castle and placed her in the Forest. She knew Silas often took walks there and she had a feeling he would notice the Princess on his walk. She could only hope.

At the same time, Milo was returning from his voyage with a boat load of treasures for Cerys and his daughter. But when he arrived in the Port, Alice Nettles was there to greet him. News travelled fast in the Castle and the areas that surrounded it and at this point, a few people already knew what had become of the Queen. Alice was one of these few.

"Milo, oh Milo, I've got to talk to you." She said.

Milo felt his heart sink. Alice's voice didn't sound happy. "Milo, I've got some dreadful news. You might want to sit down." Alice was fighting back tears. Milo was completely puzzled. What the hell was going on?

"The Queen, our Queen and your wife, was murdered this morning." Alice was not one to beat around the bush. "No one knows what became of your child. My Alther was killed as well. I'm so sorry, Milo. I know this must be an incredible blow. I know it is to me. I apologize for having to tell you like this."

Milo took in Alice's words, but he couldn't really comprehend them. Cerys was dead? But that wasn't possible! It just wasn't. She was too young, too healthy, too beautiful to die. She was the one thing he lived for, the one reason Milo felt happy with his life. Cerys was his everything. Without Cerys, what incentive should he have to keep living?

"Alice, I..." He couldn't say anymore. Milo didn't want to cry in front of Alice, but he couldn't help it. His future was gone.

Alice threw her arms around Milo and pulled him into an embrace. He could tell by the way her shoulders were shaking that she was crying as well. That was a little comforting. At least he wasn't alone in his feelings.

Any person who might have passed by this odd pair on the docks of the Port that day would have been touched and heartbroken. It is not every day that one sees a pair of people crying their eyes out in public. It was a bizarre and heart wrenching sight. After a few moments, Milo whispered. "Alice, I'm going to leave. I cannot stay here and have everything remind me of Cerys, I just can't have that happen. Surely, you understand. I can't live here any longer."

Alice nodded solemnly. She did understand. She very much wanted to leave the area herself so that she didn't have to think of Alther, but Alice was built of sterner stuff than Milo. She was going to stay behind.

So when Milo's boat pulled out of the harbor, Alice doubted if she would ever see it again. She had a feeling Milo would never return to the Castle. For a while after Milo left, many Castle residents wondered what had become of him. But it wasn't long before no one could even remember Milo's name. He was completely forgotten by the people of the Castle.

Meanwhile, Marcia had just left the baby Princess in the woods. She prayed that Silas would pass by soon and find her. Marcia didn't want the Castle's only heir to freeze to death in the Forest. She still couldn't believe the day's horrible events. She had a feeling that DomDaniel was behind it all and he intended to find him and bring him to justice. After all, that was her duty now. She was the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. Marcia vowed to make Alther proud of her. She was going to be the best ExtraOrdinary she could be and she hoped that years after her death, the people of the Castle would still remember her as a great leader. That was her goal. She wanted to make sure she was never forgotten, no matter what it took.

Not thirty minutes after Marcia had left the baby in the Forest, Silas Heap was returning from Galen's with some herbs for his newborn baby Septimus. On his way, he found the baby Princess, just as Marcia had intended. Silas didn't know what Sarah was going to say to yet another baby to care for, but he knew he couldn't leave this child to die in the snow. As Silas made his way back into the shadows of the Ramblings he was able to pass many people without anyone even paying attention to him. At one point in time, people would have been amazed to see Silas Heap. He had been one of the most famous people in the city. When he was young he had always done things that had gotten him into trouble because it had been an easy way to get attention. Now, barely anyone recognized Silas anymore. They had forgotten him and sometimes, that hurt Silas more than he liked to admit. But he had his family to worry about and at this point, that was taking up much of his life.

As Silas made his way down the corridor, a tall woman stepped out in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. She was wearing the robes of an ExtraOrdinary Wizard. Silas would have known her face anywhere.

"Marcia!" he gasped, "What the hell is-"

"Tell no one you found her. She was born to you. Understand?"

Silas nodded, uneasy. Before he had time to ask questions, Marcia was gone. Now, Silas was even more troubled than before. He desperately wanted to know who this child was and why she was so important. And more importantly, why was Marcia the ExtraOrdinary Wizard? That bothered Silas more than he liked to admit. What could Marcia do that he couldn't?

As Silas approached the door to his room in the Ramblings, it was flung open and a chubby woman in a midwife's uniform ran out. "He's dead!" she shouted over her shoulders.

Silas knew what that meant. He went into his room sadly. He had a feeling that this evening would not be a pleasant one. Silas wasn't sure Septimus was dead though. He had a feeling that DomDaniel was behind all of it. He had promised to be back for the seventh of the seventh and Silas knew he usually honored his word. But Silas knew that the Heap family was strong and together, they would survive anything, even DomDaniel's fury. As long as they had each other, they would make it through. That was all that really mattered.

**AN: Okay guys, that's it. This is what I hate about writing prequels is that you have to stay so close to the cannon in the end. But I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. I will miss making fun of Silarse, I must say. Thank you to everyone who supported me. I seriously love you guys.**


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